


How It All Went

by sealiaaaaaaa



Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: DadSchlatt, Gen, Sleepy Bois Inc Angst, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Tommy has wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-16
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:48:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 23,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29092287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sealiaaaaaaa/pseuds/sealiaaaaaaa
Summary: This is my own headcanon hodgepodge following the sleepy bois inc throughought their livestommy has wings, wilbur doesn’t, techno is a shapeshifter. They all grew up under Phil, what could go wrong ?
Comments: 43
Kudos: 394





	1. A new son

“Wilbur!” Philza yelled for his son, “Hurry up and get your shoes on, we’re heading into town!” 

His yell was soon followed by a small footsteps running towards him until he looked down to see his son smiling up at him. Phil had adopted Wilbur about 5 years ago, and their life and been good. They stayed in their cabin in the woods, Wilbur did his chores and Phil took care of him. Though Wilbur didn’t look much like his son, he had brown hair and brown eyes compared to Phil’s blonde hair and blue eyes. But Phil loved him and that’s what mattered. 

“Why’re we going into town? We went there last week.” Wilbur complained, he didn’t like going out much. Many of the kids there had already paired off into their own friend groups and since Wilbur didn’t live in town he didn’t have many friends there. 

“We need more eggs, since someone decided to throw them all into the forest,” Phil teased, his son gave a sheepish look at his feet. “But it’s okay, maybe that girl, oh what’s her name? Nicole? Maybe she’ll be there!” 

“Her name is Niki, dad. And I don’t think she’s coming back, the bakery has been closed a long time,” That didn’t go as Phil planned, but he had a better idea to make Wil feel better. He crouched down to Wilbur’s height and whispered. 

“Do you wanna fly there?” He smiled as Wilbur’s face lit up and he nodded excitedly. Philza lead his son outside and stretched his wings. He didn’t fly very often anymore, preferring to spend time at home with Wilbur. He wrapped his arms around Wilbur and took off. 

Wilbur was always quiet whenever Phil would fly him somewhere. Phil wished he could see the look on his face as he flew over the trees. 

Phil landed in a clearing near town, leaving them only a short walk. But as soon as they entered the gates Phil felt something was off. He felt as if they were being watched. 

Though most of the town accepted that Phil and Wilbur lived near town and came every so often there were still a few people that did not like Phil. He tucked his wings behind him, wishing he could make them disappear the way shapeshifters could. Phil’s wings were much larger and much more powerful than a shapeshifters, but he still was jealous of their ability to blend in. 

“Wilbur,” He squeezed his sons hand. “Stay close, please. I mean it this time, no running off.” He could hear some complaints from Wilbur but nothing worth arguing over. 

The two walked through town, searching for their favorite egg and chicken vendor. After some time of walking Phil let go of Wilbur’s hand but still kept him tucked close with his wing. Yet soon enough he found the sweet old lady who sold him eggs. 

As he was talking to the lady he felt something was wrong, something was terribly wrong. He whipped his head down to check on Wilbur. He wasn’t there. Wilbur wasn’t there. He quickly scanned the area, looking for his beloved son. The bakery. Wil had to be there. He apologized to the old lady, giving her a bit of extra money to hold onto his eggs. 

He ran to the bakery, his wooden sandals crying against the cobblestone path. Wilbur had to be there. He had to be. 

He approached the bakery and heard the yells, a boy yelling for his dad. His boy yelling for him. He ran even faster. But his heart dropped when he saw what was going on. 

A man had Wilbur by the arm, attempting to drag him away. But as soon as the man saw Phil he pulled Wilbur in against his chest, leaving Wilbur facing Phil and held a sword to his throat. Phil stopped in his tracks. He threw his hands in front of him, showing that he’s not a threat to the man. 

“Please. He’s just a boy. Just let him go,” Though Phil stood completely still, Wilbur struggled against the man. Phil stared down his son, begging him to not do anything dumb. 

“Step away old man, the kids coming with me.” The man growled. Phil’s eyes widened, what did he want with Wilbur? 

“I’ll give you whatever you want. Just please let him go,” Phil begged. He couldn’t bear to lose Wilbur. He considered lunging at the man, grabbing Wilbur and flying off. But he couldn’t risk it. The mans grip on the sword tightened as he watched Phil’s calculating gaze. 

“Get into that building,” The man nodded towards the empty bakery. Phil kept his hands up, and walked towards the bakery doors. “Go inside, and stay there. Don’t follow me or the kid gets it,” 

“Dad! Please, please don’t let him take me!” Wilbur cried, tears finally breaking through. Though his cries were cut short as the sword began to creep towards his throat. 

“Wilbur.” Phil looked his son in the eyes as he walked towards the bakery. “It’s going to be okay, stay strong for me?” Wilbur nodded and Phil entered the bakery. 

The man rushed and out a cart in front of the doors before running off with Wilbur. Leaving Philza alone and angry.   
________________  
Wilbur was scared. The man brought him to a small camp outside of town. When they approached two more men exited a tent and greeted them. 

“What’ve you got here?” One asked, looking Wilbur up and down. He’d never felt more uncomfortable. 

“Kid walking around with a hybrid, Dad had big black wings. Kids gotta have cool wings too. Worth a pretty penny.” 

Wilbur’s heart dropped as he realized why they’d brought him here. The man thought Wilbur was a hybrid like his Dad. Wilbur didn’t have wings or anything like that. He didn’t even have blonde hair. Without even realizing Wilbur started to cry, shocking his captors. 

“What’s wrong with you?” One of the men stepped forward, almost sounding genuine. 

“Come on kid,” another spoke up, “Let’s see those wings.” 

Wilbur shook his head, tears falling down his face. “I don’t have any,” He sniffed. The men all looked at the one who took him. 

“He doesn’t have wings?” They accused him.

“Hey man, you should’ve seen his Dad. No way he doesn’t have wings he’s gotta be lying!” They all turned to him again.

“My Dad found me when I was a baby, I don’t have wings.” He cried. The men rolled their eyes. 

“Great!” One of them exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air. “Tie him up next to the other one, I’m sure there’s some rich family looking for a servant boy.” 

Wilbur was shoved away from the two men. His eyes widened when he was being tied up to a pole, hands behind his back. There was a piglin, but the piglin looked like a kid. 

“Stay there, don’t cause trouble.” His captor sounded annoyed as he walked away. 

Wilbur couldn’t help but stare at the piglin kid in front of him. He’d never seen one in person, only heard stories from his dad. But in all the stories they sounded big and scary. Not little and scared. 

“What’s your problem?” The piglin growled, shocking him. 

“You can talk?!” The sentence came off a lot more jerk-ish than he meant. 

“Yeah I can talk, now why’re you staring?” 

“Sorry,” Wilbur felt his cheeks go red with embarrassment. “I’ve just, I’ve never seen a piglin in real life.” 

“Well now you have, get over it.” 

Wilbur nodded and looked back at his feet, he couldn’t help but start to cry again. He just wanted his dad. 

“Can you two shut up!” One of the men rushed over. “I’m trying to figure out how to smuggle this one,” He grabbed the piglin’s face, “into the capitol and your yapping isn’t helping! At least I can pass you off-“ The man’s sentence was cut off by him screaming. 

The piglin had bit his hand. The man screamed and finally got his hand back by punching the piglin in the face. 

His friends rushed over and quickly muzzled the piglin, making Wilbur think this wasn’t the first time he’d bit someone. 

“You better watch yourself freak!” One of the men spat, “Or well send you right back through the portal we found you and leave you for dead.” All the men filed away leaving the disgruntled piglin and Wilbur. 

There was a long awkward silence before Wilbur decided to break it. “So what’s your name?” 

The piglin stared at him for a long time before answering. “Call me Technoblade.” Wilbur being the kid he was didn’t think anything of it. 

“That’s a cool name. My names Wilbur,” He smiled, before the silence returned. “Why’d you bite that guy?” 

“He deserved it, he grabbed my face. They’ve been doing that since they dragged me here. They should know better,” Technoblade sighed. “Why’re you here?” 

“They thought I have wings like my dad,” Wilbur looked down at his feet, “I don’t.” 

Technoblade nodded and the boys continued talking till the men told them to knock it off and go to sleep. While they tried they just couldn’t. Being tied to a pole and muzzled isn’t the most comfortable sleeping position. 

After a long while the boys heads shot up to rustling in the leaves. 

“Dad?” Wilbur whisper-yelled out to the woods. There was a long silence followed by the boy being shushed. Both boys lit up, they had a chance to be saved. 

Philza finally emerged from the tree line, his wings tucked tightly behind him. He held his finger over his mouth and crept towards Wilbur. 

“I spiked their water, they won’t be up for a while. But still stay quiet just in case,” He whispered to Wilbur, who was practically jumping up and down. 

Once Wilbur was untied Phil went to fly off with him but Wil squirmed out of his grip. 

“What’s wrong now?” Phil whispered, obviously stressed. 

“We can’t leave Technoblade here! He’s coming with us.” Wilbur rushed over to Techno’s side, fumbling with the ropes. Philza didn’t know what to do, so he helped untie the piglin. He struggled with the muzzle but after a moment it came off, though he felt bad when he saw the red marks on the boys face. 

Unfortunately one of the men came stumbling out of the tent and saw the scene. He began rushing to grab a weapon. 

“Boys get behind me.” Phil ordered, stretching out his wings to protect the boys. 

The fight was quick, there wasn’t many people who could go toe to toe with Phil around these parts. Technoblade was amazed by the fight, he needed to learn how to do that. 

Once they got back to the house Techno begged the man to teach him how, and Phil eventually agreed. After watching the two boys interact he realized Technoblade wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.   
_______________  
Technoblade really did fit in quite well with Wilbur and Phil. He was able to do a lot of the heavy lifting chores Wilbur couldn’t. 

The two boys were happy to be able to finally have someone, and Phil was happy to have someone to keep Wilbur occupied. 

One day when the boys were out in the yard playing Phil ran outside to a scream. He had his sword ready when he burst through the door only to realize there was no threat. 

Wilbur was staring at Technoblade, but it was Wilbur’s face staring right back. 

“Dad!” Wilbur yelled, pointing to Techno, “He looks like me!” He was right. Techno looked just like him except for pink hair and pointy ears. 

“When were you gonna tell us about this?” Phil asked, sighing in relief that there was no real danger. 

Technoblade shrugged, “Wilbur was talking about going into town, I figured it’d be easier if I looked like this.” 

“We’re twins!!” Wilbur squealed.


	2. Another New Brother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy steps into the picture

Techno had settled into life in the cottage rather well. Days and weeks meshed together as the three went on with their lives. Techno even began his training with Phil. 

After a long while of all living together Techno finally got the courage to ask a question that had been burning in the back of his head. He had planned it out and waited till they all sat down to eat dinner. 

“Hey Wilbur?” Techno asked, the boy whipping his head up from his food to acknowledge the question. “Where’s your mom?” 

The table went silent, Techno couldn’t help but feel bad for the intrusive question but they’d been living together for so long and he was curious. 

“Um.” Wilbur looked down at his plate and played with his food, “Dad?” He looked to Phil, who seemed calm. 

“See Techno, I found Wil when he was a baby,” He explained carefully. “I don’t know if he has any other family, but I think we’re all the family he needs,” He chuckled and went back to eating his food. 

“But Dad...” Wilbur said quietly, “Where did you find me? Was I meant to be found? Or was I meant to die?” Phil stared at his son in shock. Not much could shake Phil but this did. He was asking such complex questions for his age. Phil couldn’t help but wonder if this is what Wilbur sat and thought about when he couldn’t sleep and wound up in his bed. 

“Oh Wilbur...” He got up and hugged the boy, “I don’t know why you were left there, but I found you and you’re here now with me and Techno and that’s what matters.” Techno got up and awkwardly joined the hug. “Whoever left you there lost out the opportunity to meet the amazing boy you’ve grown into,” 

Wilbur nodded, “Thank you,” and resumed eating his food like nothing had happened. 

“You know what boys?” Phil and Techno had returned back to their respective plates. “Why don’t we go visit where I found you tomorrow?” 

Wilbur’s head shot up and the excitement shone in his eyes. 

“Finish your plates and well leave in the morning. It’s a bit of a walk but nothing you two can’t handle.” 

The boys spent their bedtime whispering until Phil came and told them to sleep.   
______________________  
A little after dawn the three of them set off. Phil telling stories of his adventures as they trekked. It wasn’t a far walk but Phil wanted to leave early just in case something went wrong. 

Finally after what felt like forever the trees worked their way into a circle making a clearing. In the middle was a weird box of some sort, with two big doors on the front. 

“There she is!” Phil chuckled, “This is where I found you Wilbur.” Wilbur was beyond confused. 

“You found me here?” He asked, pointing at his surroundings. 

“You were in that big box over there actually. I wouldn’t have noticed you were there if you hadn’t started crying when I tripped.” 

Wilbur and Techno crept towards the box, as if it would reach out and eat them up. 

“This thing is like your mom,” Techno whispered. Wilbur couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Yeah, this is my mom! Dad” He called out to Phil, “This is your wife!” Phil was confused but laughed along nonetheless. 

As Wilbur got closer he couldn’t help notice the faint crying. He pried open the door to find a small baby inside, crying his eyes out. 

“Uhhh, Dad!” He called to Phil again, “There’s a baby in here!” 

“There’s a what?!” Phil ran over, holding his hat to make sure it didn’t fly away. “You have to be mistaken there’s no way there’s a-“ He stopped when he saw that there was indeed a small baby in the box. “A baby, there’s a baby.” 

Phil picked up the small one, who was swaddled up in a blanket. He held the baby close to his chest, there was an instant connection and the baby began to calm down. 

“Can we keep him? Is he my brother?” Wilbur asked, peeking over Phil’s arms to see the baby. 

“I guess he is Wil,” He looked over at Techno, who was awkwardly staring at this feet. “Techno? You wanna see the baby?” Techno nodded after a moment of hesitation and shuffled over. 

“He kinda looks like you,” Techno observed. Phil had to admit he wasn’t wrong, they had the same blue eyes and blonde hair. 

“What’s his name?” Wilbur asked, practically jumping up and down. 

“Maybe he had a necklace with his name.” Phil began to unravel the blanket away from the baby. “You had one with you when I found you,” 

When the baby was fully unswaddled he yawned and stretched out, it was then when the three realized the baby had little white wings. 

“Dad! Look! He’s got wings like you!” Wilbur shouted, causing the baby to start crying again. Phil wanted to cry tears of joy, it had been so long since he’d seen someone with wings. Most of them had been hunted down and had their wings mounted. 

“His name is Theseus,” Techno said, Phil looked over to see the boy holding a necklace with the name Theseus engraved into it. “Just like the story! Theseus like the story!” He jumped up and down. 

“I’m not calling him that,” Wilbur crossed his arms. “That’s a mouthful, I’m naming him Tommy,” Phil sighed but nodded. 

“Let’s get home, we don’t know how long he’s been out here alone,” They boys nodded and began the trek home.   
________________  
After a few years Tommy fit right into their life. It felt like a missing piece had been filled. As the boys grew Wilbur and Techno had grew rather quiet as their interests didn’t require too much noise. Wilbur’s songs were mellow and fighting didn’t require a lot of talk. 

But Tommy was loud as all get out. He had found two sticks, perfectly sized for his tiny hands and decided to chase Wilbur around with them. 

His wings weren’t strong enough to get him off the ground, but he sure as hell tried. Occasionally managing to get high enough to attach himself to Wilbur’s back. 

Phil didn’t have much attention for Tommy. He spent much of his time with Techno on fighting techniques and life skills. It had been like that for a while before Tommy came around, but Wilbur hoped with Tommy being a near copy of Phil he’d pay a bit more attention to him. 

Though Tommy’s chaotic nature things were relatively quiet. When Tommy was younger Wilbur had realized the key to keeping Tommy calm and occupied for a bit was music. Specifically a pair of music discs he had fished out of one of Phil’s old traveling trunks. Tommy loved them. 

One day while Phil was sparring with Techno, Tommy ran out into the ring and nearly got hurt. 

“Tommy!” Phil dropped his wooden sword and ran to the boy, he had scared himself and was now crying. After Tommy had been calmed Phil ran into the house in a blind rage. 

“Wilbur!” He saw his son jolt awake. “Tommy nearly got hurt and you’re in here asleep!” He yelled. 

Wilbur was still in the process of waking up but something in him snapped. He got up. Walked past Phil and kept walking, straight into the woods and out of sight. 

Phil was speechless, “Wilbur! Wilbur get back here!” But his son didn’t even spare him a glance. He walked back to the training area, muttering angry words to himself. 

He couldn’t help but smile at the scene, Tommy was holding one of his sticks and pretending to fight Techno, who was pretending to lose. 

“Every man has his fall from grace, I never imagined yours would be caused by a little one like Tommy,” Phil chuckled. 

Techno got up, dusted himself off and picked up Tommy. “Go after him Phil, I got the little Theseus here,” 

Phil simply nodded, spread out his wings, and took off. It would be a lot easier to find Wilbur from the skies. 

Just as he suspected, it didn’t take long to find Wilbur and he landed nearby. 

“Go away Dad, I don’t want to talk to you right now.” He snapped. Phil put his hands up in surrender. 

“Listen Wil, I just wanna talk. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that back at home. I was more mad at myself for nearly hurting Tommy,”

“I don’t care what you were feeling,” Wilbur snapped. “You expect me to watch Tommy all day everyday while you train with Techno, and for what? There’s no war here! I was fine when you would train when we were little. At the end of the day you always came back and we ate dinner together and everything was fine. But you never pay attention to Tommy! Did you know his first word was bitch? Because I did! Because I was there! I just thought.” Wilbur’s voice cracked and he lowered his voice, he hadn’t realized he was shouting. “I just hoped that since Tommy looked so much more like you than I do you’d pay more attention.” 

The forest went quiet as Wilbur finally let go of all the words he’d been holding onto for so long. 

Phil didn’t know what to say, so he just hugged Wilbur and let him cry into his shoulder. 

“I’m sorry Wil. I didn’t realize I’d been doing that,” He looked back on the past few months and realized Wilbur was right. He’d missed so many of Tommy’s milestones. “I’m going to try and be better, I promise” 

“You better,” Wilbur laughed, drying his face on his sleeve, “That boy is a handful.” The two chuckled together and got up to begin the walk home. 

“Was his first word really bitch?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i couldn’t wait to update so here’s chapter two :D hope you enjoy !!


	3. A New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dadschlatt pog

“Hey, Tubbo?” Schlatt called, he couldn’t help but feel a pitiful smile rush across his face when he saw his sons ears perk and little tail begin wagging like a dog. 

“Yea Dad?” The small boy asked, turning away from his bee plushie and makeshift toys. 

“You know dad loves you, right?”   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Tommy hold my hand,” Phil warned his son as they walked through the towns gates. He couldn’t help but feel more cautious after what happened all those years ago. They took Wilbur thinking he had wings, Tommy actually had wings. He couldn’t help but be scared for him. 

“But Dad I want to go explore, I never get to go into town” Tommy whined, pulling against Phil’s hand that was now wrapped around his small wrist. 

“You don’t come out because you can’t listen,” Wilbur butted in, though he immediately received a sour look from Tommy. 

“Wilburs always training, I want a friend!” Tommy complained, digging his heels into the dirt path. 

“Tommy please,” Phil sighed, “I just need to trade some things and then we can go home and play.” Deep down his sons words stung a bit. Wilbur had begun training with Techno, leaving Tommy to get into more trouble than ever. 

Tommy sighed and began walking along side his family, remaining suspiciously quiet. He was on the look out for another kid to play with. 

Finally Phil turned to the stand where he was trading potatoes from the family farm for some milk and eggs. He had planned to make a cake for the boys. 

“Alright now that that’s done,” Phil turned to two of his sons talking and one missing. “Boys where’s Tommy?” 

Wilbur and Techno looked at each other, then looked around. Phil’s heart dropped. 

“He’s over there.” Techno said after a moment. 

Tommy was indeed just over there, talking to another little boy. 

“You two can take these and head home so they don’t spoil, I’ll take care of Tommy.” Phil handed Wilbur and Techno the milk and eggs. 

Before he rushed to get Tommy he heard Wilbur whisper that Tommy was in for it. 

“Can you fly?” The other little boy asked, admiring Tommy’s wings. 

“I’m the best,” Tommy boasted. He went to keep talking when he noticed his fathers shadow looming over him. He slowly turned around, “Hi Dad, this is my friend Tubbo.” He smiled

All anger faded away when he saw Tommy with another boy his age. The smaller boy held a bee toy close to his chest and looked at Phil’s wings in awe. 

“Hello Tubbo, I’m Tommys dad Phil.” He reached a hand out to shake the boys hand. After a second of not getting any response he continued. “Where’s your parents?” 

“My dads asleep, he wouldn’t wake up to play with me so I got bored and wandered out.” This confused Phil, it was midday. 

“Do you live around here?” Tubbo nodded. 

“I live down that street,” He pointed to a nearby sign. 

“Let’s get you home before your dad starts to worry,” Phil grabbed Tommy and Tubbo’s hands and began walking down the street, stopping at each house to ask if it was the right house. 

Finally Tubbo led them to something closer to a shed then a house. Tubbo ran up to the door and began knocking. The three waited outside until finally the door opened. 

In front of Phil stood a young man, much too young to be a father. He hoped it was Tubbo’s older brother but from what the boy described that didn’t see to be the case. His hair was a mess, wrapping around his budding horns. His hand was wrapped around a bottle Phil knew all too well. 

“Hello?” He asked, his voice hoarse and tired. 

“Yes, hi. I’m Philza, my son found Tubbo out in town and we thought we’d make sure he got home safe.” 

The man straightened and turned to look in his house quickly, he slapped a hand to his forehead and uttered a quiet ‘shit’ as he realized what happened. 

“Hey man, I really appreciate it.” He turned a bit for Tubbo to head back inside. The boys said a quick goodbye and Tubbo went inside and began playing. Phil couldn’t help but notice the messy state the house was in. 

“Tommy really took a liking to your boy. If you ever need anything he can always come over to play. Lord knows Tommy could use someone to play with.” Phil laughed, trying to offer help without seeming like he was pitying the young man. 

Phil was looked up and down in a moment of silence before a hand was extended to him. “I’m Schlatt” They shook hands. “Where’d you say you live?” Phil couldn’t help but feel hopeful. 

“Not too far out of town, maybe a five minute walk off the trail. Follow the newest path and you’ll find us.” Schlatt nodded, muttered a thank you before closing the door. 

“Can I see Tubbo again?” Tommy asked as they walked away from the door. 

“I think you will,”   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
It had only been a few days and Tommy had been begging to see Tubbo. Phil had planned to take him into town when he did trading but there was no need. It was early morning and Phil had woken up early to go for a quick fly. 

When he opened the door he was shocked to see Schlatt standing there anxiously, a sleeping Tubbo on his shoulder. 

“Hello there,” Phil smiled, trying to be friendly despite the early time. 

“Hey, I’m really sorry but can you watch Tubbo for a few days. I got offered a quick job a couple towns away and I can’t afford not to go,” Schlatt went to continue rambling before Phil stopped him. 

“I told you to come if you need anything, I meant it.” He reached out his arms and took Tubbo, careful not to wake him. 

“I don’t know how I can pay you,” Schlatt said quietly. 

“Don’t worry about payment, keeping Tommy occupied is enough.” Both men smiled and Schlatt ran off, leaving a small box full of clothes and such for Tubbo. 

He set the small boy down on the couch to let him continue sleeping but it was short lived. 

Techno and Wilbur came barreling down the hallway with Tommy in tow arguing over what they wanted for breakfast. Phil tried to shush them but it was too late and Tubbo began to sit up and rub his eyes. 

“Dad?” He opened his eyes and scanned the room, “Where’s Dad?” He asked, his voice beginning to tremble. 

“Oh dear...” Phil sat next to him on the couch, “Tubbo your dad went on a trip you’re gonna stay here with Tommy for a few days.” Tubbo was quiet but nodded. 

“Tubbo!” Tommy yelled, jumping onto the couch to see him. “My friend!!” 

Tubbo was still a bit disoriented but gave his friend a quick hug. 

“Wilbur? Techno?” Phil turned to the older boys, “Can you take these two outside to burn some energy while I make breakfast?” The older boys nodded and each grabbed a toddler. 

“Make pancakes!” Techno yelled as he scooped up Tubbo and began walking towards the door. Tubbo squirmed in Techno’s arms, not sure what to do with the stranger. As soon as he was put down he rushed to Tommy’s side. 

“Don’t worry. That’s Techno,” He pointed to Technoblade who was in human form at the moment. “And that’s Wilby,” 

“Wilby?” Tubbo laughed, “You’re not a bee,” Wilbur couldn’t help but smile at the comment.

“No, my name is Wilbur. Tommy has trouble with it sometimes.” Tubbo nodded and looked around, beginning to panic. 

“Where’s my bee? Dad gave me my bee!” Tears were beginning to form and the two eldest boys rushed into the house to look while Tommy tried to calm Tubbo down. 

“No cry, don’t cry,” He wiped his friends face with open hands, smushing him more than anything. 

“Here Tubbo, one bee toy!” Techno smiled. You could tell he had wrestled Wilbur for it as Wilbur rubbed his arm. Tubbo perked right up and took the plush into his arms. 

“Thank you thank you!” He beamed up at Techno. 

“Here kid wanna see something cool?” Techno kneeled down to the toddlers, whispering even though Wilbur knew what was happening. Tubbo nodded quickly and his eyes grew in awe as Techno went from his human to piglin form. He didn’t do this in front of people often but Tubbo felt safe. Tubbo’s tail began wagging quickly and Techno let him feel his ears and tusks. 

“That’s cool!” He giggled. “Piggy!” The young boy struggling a bit with his words but everyone was patient with him. 

“Hey I’m cool too!” Tommy yelled, obviously jealous. He jumped up and furiously flapped his wings. For a moment he actually stayed afloat in the air. His eyes, which had been shut tight, opened and he smiled widely at Tubbo before falling right back into the ground. 

The boys laughed with Tommy then congratulated him for staying in the air for so long. Tommy wasn’t a super strong flyer as Phil, who was now returning to his jobs since Wilbur and Techno could watch Tommy, hadn’t had much time to teach him. The most he could do was glide and prolong his jumps a bit. 

After this the boys began to try and give Tommy tips on his flying. It was beginning to work a bit when Phil walked out yelling for breakfast. 

“Dad! Dad!” Tommy ran up to him, “Come watch me fly! Techno and Wilby helped me!” He jumped up and down and smiled. 

“Oh Tommy that’s great,” Phil smiled. “But let’s eat breakfast first, wouldn’t want it to get cold” 

“Okay.” Tommy said quietly, his entire demeanor changed. This wasn’t the first time his flying had been brushed off. His older brothers sent him a sympathetic look but he didn’t notice as he walked inside, slumped over. Phil didn’t seem to notice. 

The boys ate pancakes and enjoyed a couple of days of rough housing and exploring the woods. After the third day, long after the days activities had come and gone, and Phil had put the boys to bed. 

Phil had finally sat down on the couch with a cup of tea, he yawned and stretched his wings. He went to take a sip when there was a knock on the door. It was unexpected and caused him to jump, nearly spilling his tea. He quickly got up a rushed to the door, urgent to get this over with. 

“Hello?” He whipped the door open, his attitude quickly changed as he saw an exhausted Schlatt on the other side. 

“I’m here for Tubbo. Thank you again for watching him but I can take him off your hands.” 

“Schlatt-“ Phil looked at the young man, the bags under his eyes even more prominent than the last time he saw him. “You look exhausted, and Tubbo’s already asleep why don’t you get some rest?” 

“No.” Schlatt tried to look into the house, “Please.” He looked up at Phil, “I just wanna take my son home.” Phil sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do. 

They both went into Tommy’s room, untangled the boys from each other and Schlatt left with Tubbo on his shoulder and bee plush in his hand. 

Phil felt bad for the poor man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have no life have another chapter


	4. Tubbo in a Box

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tubbo in a box   
> what will he do?  
> cry

Schlatt wiped the tears that burned in his eyes. He placed his sleeping son into a box with a letter, his plush, and a few of his other things. It was besides the road that led to Phil’s house. 

He knew Phil would find Tubbo in the morning, they had been discussing Phil’s plans to trade some things away the next day. 

He wanted to take Tubbo to Phil directly but he couldn’t face the older man. Phil had done so much for him and he had never paid him back once. He’d watched Tubbo more times than he could count and hadn’t been given a single penny for his troubles. 

There was a job offering quite far away, the only catch was that Schlatt couldn’t bring Tubbo. He had begged the owners but they told him children were not welcomed. 

Tubbo would be in good hands, Schlatt knew that. But that didn’t make this hurt any less. His sons small ears twitched and he reached out for his father. Schlatt held onto his sons small hand. 

“I love you, don’t forget that.” He whispered, his voice trembling with every word. 

He began to walk away, his heart ached to turn back and take Tubbo. But he couldn’t. Tubbo deserved better than the life Schlatt was providing him. If Schlatt worked his way up in the new job he could come back for Tubbo. 

The home he had shared with his son had already been emptied, with the money he got from selling their belongings he had rented a horse and was to set off for his new job the next day. 

Before he left the forest he looked back one last time, he wanted nothing more than to run back and hold his son. But he couldn’t let himself, he was doing what was right.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Phil had woken the boys up early, preparing them for their trip to town. He needed to trade away some things as he prepped for another trip in a few weeks. 

“Dad can I see Tubbo while we’re in town?” Tommy asked, a hopefully smile on his face. 

“You can ask Tubbo to come and walk with us, but we’re not going to bother his dad” Tommy smiled and began urging everyone to hurry so they could leave. While endearing the older boys did not appreciate being rushed. 

Each boy took their place beside Phil and they began walking. It wasn’t long before Phil felt something off. 

“Tommy?” A small voice asked, the family looked over to see a confused Tubbo rubbing his eyes. 

“Tubbo?” Tommy let go of his dads hand and walked over to his friend. “Why’re you in a box?” 

“I don’t know.” Tubbo’s voice was trembling. “I can’t find my dad, I woke up here.” 

“Calm down, it’s gonna be okay.” Phil kneeled down and helped Tubbo out of the box. 

Tommy hugged Tubbo in an effort to comfort his friend. Phil looked in the box and found a letter, he quickly scanned it and sighed when he read it. 

“Why don’t we head back the house, I can go into town myself tomorrow.” Each boy was confused but didn’t argue. 

When they reached home Tommy and Tubbo disappeared to play in Tommys room. But Techno and Wilbur stayed back to talk to Phil. 

“How long is Tubbo staying this time?” Techno asked, sitting down at the table with an apple. 

“He’s not leaving,” Phil sighed, placing the letter on the table. “His Dad asked us to take care of him from now on.” The boys grabbed the letter and began to read. 

Dear Phil,   
I’m sorry to do this, I wanted to bring Tubbo to you but I couldn’t face you. I got a job far away, they said I can’t bring Tubbo. Tubbo deserves better than what I can provide for him right now. Maybe if this new job works out I can come back for him. But please don’t give him false hope. I love him more than anything but you are much more fit to take care of him then I am. Please just let him forget about me, it’ll be easier for him. Again I’m sorry

“So that’s it?” Wilbur asked, “Tubbo’s just going to stay here?” Wilbur didn’t quite want to keep an eye on both young boys. 

“I guess so,” Phil took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. “We’re going to have to figure this out” 

“How’re we going to tell Tubbo?” Techno asked. 

“We’re not,” Phil told them sternly, “As far as Tubbo is aware this is just another stay.”

“He’s going to figure it out,” Wilbur piped up, “We can’t hide it from him forever. If we don’t say anything he’s going to assume his dad hates him or something”

“We will tell him when he’s ready. But he’s not ready,” 

The boys didn’t believe Phil would ever think Tubbo was ready, but they knew better than to fight him on this. 

Meanwhile Tommy and Tubbo were busy climbing out the window. Tommy’s wings flapping furiously as he lifted Tubbo up. 

“Where are we going?” Tubbo asked after they both got out of the house. Tommy shrugged. 

They walked on, talking about everything and nothing. Tubbo seemed a bit distracted, he worried about his dad. He had fallen asleep at home, maybe someone else moved him. His dad was probably worried sick. He had to get home to him, this was wrong. Maybe- 

His thoughts were cut off by a rock colliding with his head. He yelped and put a hand to his head which was still stinging. Tommy and Tubbo both looked around, confused on where the attack came from. Their questions were soon answered by laughter erupting from above them. The two looked up and saw three older boys laughing from a tree house. 

“Hey!” Tommy yelled, glaring at the other boys. “You come down and apologize to him!” He demanded. The other boys continued to laugh. 

“What’re you gonna do about it?” One of them asked, Tommy wanted to rip that bandana off his head and choke him with it. 

“Tommy let’s go,” Tubbo tugged on his arm. Tommy held his hand and they began to walk away when another rock fell to the ground next to them. Tommy grabbed the rock and threw it as hard as he could, hitting a kid with goggles. 

The other two boys did not appreciate this and began climbing down the ladder to go after them. 

Tommy squeezed Tubbo’s hand and they took off past the treehouse, heading away from home. He knew if he led the boys to Phil he’d be in trouble. 

They could hear the boys gaining on them. Tubbo was starting to lose his grip on his hand when the both of them fell. They had ran into something. 

When they looked up they realized they ran into someone not something. 

“Oh hello boys,” The man said, “Are you some of Sapnap’s friends?” The two boys that had been chasing them caught up. 

“No! They hit George with a rock!” The bandana kid said, who could now be assumed to be Sapnap. Tommy jumped up. 

“You hit Tubbo first! And tried to hit us again, so then I threw one back!” The man glared at the boys. Now that Tommy got a better look at him he noticed the black horns and other nonhuman features. Not that Tommy cared, with his family he had no room to talk about weird features. 

“Sapnap! What did I tell you about throwing rocks at strangers? If you keep this up you’re not gonna be allowed at the treehouse.” Sapnap shuffled his feet and muttered a sorry. “Here boys,” The man handed them both muffins from a tray he’d been holding. “I’m sorry about my son and his friends, take these as an apology.” 

Tommy and Tubbo thanked him and ran off not giving the group anytime to question them or follow them home to snitch. The whole way home they laughed about what had happened. Tommy explaining how he was the hero and saved Tubbo’s life. 

They quietly climbed back through the window and resumed playing like nothing had happened. When Phil later came in to check on them he questioned where they got the muffins but the boys just shrugged and laughed it off. Phil was confused but knew he was getting no answers out of the two.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the random story at the end but it’s just a little idea i came up with and wanted to get out there and i didn’t wanna end this chapter on a sad note 
> 
> anyways i didn’t know how to describe bad so sorry that it’s a bad weird, but i remember sapnap confirming bad is his dad so i just wanted to throw that in there bc it’s cute


	5. A Morning Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy decided to teach himself to fly

Phil had truly returned to his trips now. Leaving the boys for days or weeks at a time. 

When Phil was home he spent much of his time training with Techno and Wilbur, leaving Tommy and Tubbo alone. The two often getting into trouble around the woods.

When Phil would leave to go on a morning flight Tommy would understandably become very upset. He finally decided if Phil wasn’t going to teach him to fly he’d teach himself. 

He didn’t tell anyone when he was leaving, they were all asleep. He was going on his own morning flight. 

Not far from home was a small cliff that led down into a river, it was perfect. But when he reached the cliff he wasn’t expecting the water to be so rough below him. He was scared but took a deep breathe. 

His white wings opened, he felt the wind pounding against his feathers. He stretched them, trying to get a feel for the wind. He could hear the water rushing below him. 

“Tommy!” He heard someone yell, he scowled. Surely he hadn’t been that loud when he left the house. He ignored the yell, he had to do this. He had to show his dad that he didn’t need him to teach him to fly. 

He took a deep breathe, stretched his wings as far as he could and then relaxed them a bit. He took a few steps back and then took a running start. 

It felt good for a second. The wind under his wings, everything was good. He opened his eyes and watched as the water grew closer and closer. 

He did the only thing he knew to do, he yelled out for his dad. 

Luckily he had tucked his wings around him before he hit the water. The water was cold, it gripped against his feathers as the chill tried to reach his bones. 

Everything grew quiet for a moment. He could feel his lungs start to burn as they itched for air. He couldn’t hold his breathe much longer. He was ready to let the water rush into his lungs when he felt himself being pulled up through the water. 

All his senses rushed back to him in one instances, it was quite overwhelming. His body was thrown against the river bank. 

“Tommy! What were you thinking!” His eyes snapped open to see Phil there, his face red with cold and anger. 

“I was flying.” He grumbled. He ignored the shiver clinging to him, trying to act tough for his father. 

“That wasn’t flying! You jumped off a cliff Tommy. You have to be more careful. You know you can’t fly that well-“ Tommy cut him off. 

“I can’t fly well because you haven’t taught me!” He yelled, his fathers shocked face made him lower his volume in an instance. “I wanted to teach myself since you refuse to teach me.” Phil sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

“Tommy, I’m not trying to ignore your flying. I’ve been really busy lately..” He glanced off. 

“But I’ve always had wings, yet you’ve never taught me anything!” Tommys anger rushed back in an instance. “I’ve always wanted to learn, I’ve always tried. But you never have time for me.” Tears pricked at his eyes, threatening to fall. “You always have time for Techno, you always find time for Wilbur. Why isnt my flying important?” 

Tommy felt himself be pulled into a hug, he began to shake from the cold and from crying as he fell into his dad. 

“I’m gonna try, I promise.” Phil found his way to his feet and hoisted his son up. “Now let’s try and fly home,” He smiled, grabbing both of Tommys hands. 

The two did manage to almost fly home, though most of it was Phil carrying Tommy while Tommy practiced the motions. Either way, the young boy was happy. 

This was all he ever wanted, some attention from his dad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Sorry this chapter is a little shorter I’m back at school again but i’m gonna work really hard to keep getting chapters out 
> 
> anywayyy anyone got any good Fundy origin headcannon ?? my boy is getting his own chapter but idk how to write his origin


	6. Take Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> here is a more domestic chapter before some angst comes

Phil and Tommy returned to their home, it took much longer than Phil was used to but he was being patient with Tommy. Tommy’s wings stung a bit from being used more than normal but he was excited. 

“You did good,” Phil told him as he landed, Tommy beamed. 

“Hey!” Tubbo ran out from the house. It had been a few years since Tubbo had been left for them to take care of. He often wondered what happened to his father but he was happy in his new life. “Where’d you guys go off to?” 

“Dad was helping me fly.” Tommy said nonchalantly, “I’m already a pro.” Phil raised an unimpressed eyebrow but laughed along. 

“Perhaps with a few more lessons you’ll be able to fly on your own.” He smiled, patting Tommy on the back. They now had an unspoken rule not to speak of the incident that just occurred. 

“Techno made omelettes for breakfast.” Tubbo smiled, “They already ate so right now theyre prepping for training.” 

“Alright I’ll go and eat and then Tommy and I can do a few more lessons then I’ll go train with them.” 

“Can Tubbo watch our lessons?” Tommy asked, he remembered how left out he felt of his brothers training and wanted to include Tubbo. 

“I don’t see why not,” Phil smiled.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
“Alright, stretch your wings.” Phil instructed as he stretched his own. 

“Why? I flew earlier theyre plenty stretched.” Tommy complained though he did comply. 

“If you’re too tense you will fall, flying lessons may be crucial but they can be dangerous,” Tommy rolled his eyes and began flexing his wings out. 

“I just want to learn to fly like you do,” He grumbled. 

“And I’m teaching you,” Phil smiled, “Now first, you need to get into a take off position.” He crouched down, stretching out his wings. 

“I’ve never seen you do this,” Tommy complained as he assumed the position. 

“I’m skilled enough to take off while standing, you’re just learning so you’ll take off like this.” 

Tommy stretched his wings, he couldn’t wait to be able to fly. 

“Okay now,” Phil continued. “To take off you need to almost jump as you do, and to continue staying above create a steady rhythm with your wings,” He demonstrated and Tommy felt a twang of jealousy as his father hovered above him. But he was determined to do the same. 

He took off, it took him a moment to find a rhythm that felt right. He stumbled in the air, trying to catch himself. After a moment he did it, he was hovering. 

“Tubbo look at me!” He smiled down to his friend. 

“Tommy you’re doing great!” Tubbo smiled back. 

“You’re doing good Tommy, now let’s do a landing.” Phil showed as he opened his wings slowly and glided down to the ground. 

Tommy opened his wings a bit too early and ended up falling down onto his face. Phil and Tubbo laughed as they helped him up. 

“Alright, you can keep practicing but I need to go start training with Wilbur and Techno” Phil smiled and began to walk off. 

Tommy and Tubbo spent hours practicing the take off, hover, and landing till Tommy nearly perfected it. And he was hungry to learn more.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
Phil entered the small training ring to see Wilbur trying to pin Techno. When Phil wasn’t looking the boys liked to ditch their weapons and teach themselves to fist fight. Phil didn’t really see the point but they seemed to enjoy it. 

Just as Wilbur and Techno’s back against the ground he felt a hard kick to his stomach and his back hit the ground. 

“I win again!” Techno declared. Wilbur sighed but admitted defeat. 

“Boys!” Phil smiled, both boys snapped their head up. They hadn’t noticed him there. “Let’s get our swords and fight the way soldiers fight,” 

“Hey, you never know when someone’s gonna try and fight dirty.” Wilbur shrugged. 

Philza smiled, he couldn’t be prouder of his boys.


	7. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the voices are here

“Techno I want to train with you!” Tommy complained. “I want to learn to fight too.” 

“Tommy you aren’t skilled enough to spar with me. Go ask Tubbo.” Techno rolled his eyes at him. 

“I don’t know how to fight, and I don’t care much to learn,” Tubbo piped in. Tommy gestured to him. 

“Seeeeee, Wilbur is hurt so you have no one to spar with except me. I’ll never be skilled enough if I don’t start.” Tommy nudged Technos arm, a small smile grew on his brothers face. He nodded and Tommy yelled a quick yes. 

All the boys rushed out to the training ring, Tommy leading the charge. Wilbur trudged behind, during one of Tommys flight lessons he had lost his balance and fell into Wilbur who broke his hand. He was extremely upset as it meant he couldn’t play guitar. 

“We’re using stone swords,” Techno announced, Tommy smiled and eagerly took one. 

“Let’s dance big man.” He taunted, circling the edge of the ring. Techno follows his lead and circled the edge, waiting for a strike. 

Tommy lunged, his sword held high. This left a large opened for Techno to evade his swing and swipe under his feet. Tommy fell flat on his back but rolled away and got back to his feet. 

“You were wide open, I couldn’t help it.” Techno chuckled. Tommy scowled and lunged again. This time his sword was held lower, he was more aware of himself. Techno easily avoided his swings and grabbed his wrist, wrestling the sword out of his hand. 

As the sword clattered Techno stopped dead in his tracks. Whispers began to fill his thoughts. Whispers of violence. He covered his ears, he begged for them to stop, to be quiet. He fell to his knees, begging. Tubbo and Wilbur got up and rushed to get Phil. 

“Techno, you alright big man?” Tommy placed a hand on Technos shoulder. He flinched as his wrist was tightly grabbed. 

“They want blood.” Techno whispered. He quickly grabbed his sword and lunged toward Tommy. 

Tommy ripped his wrist away, backing up quickly. 

“Big man, big T, what’s gotten into you?” He nervously asked, looking around for his sword. Techno had assumed his piglin form, his head low and breath heavy.

There were a few heavy swings that Tommy narrowly missed. 

Tommy decided he needed to get out of there, he turned and tried to take off. Just as he reached the air there was a hand around his ankle and his stomach   
hit the ground. 

He rolled onto his back with enough time to receive a heavy boot into his stomach. He cried out in pain and squirmed under the boot as he tried to get away. 

“Technoblade please,” Tommy was shaking as Techno raised the sword above his head, ready for a deathly blow. 

Techno’s hands shook as he fought with himself. Why was he doing this? He didn’t want to hurt Tommy. Tommy didn’t do anything. 

“Techno!” He was tackled the the ground. He shut his eyes for a moment as he fought off the voices that were demanding blood. 

When he opened his eyes he saw Phil on top of him, breathing heavily. Behind him Tommy was shaking, being helped by Wilbur and Tubbo. 

“Techno what was that?” Phil demanded, his voice soft yet stern. Techno shot up to hug Phil for comfort but given what had just happened Phil flinched and pushed him away. Techno was shocked. 

“They wanted blood, voices. They wouldn’t shut up. I gave in. I’m sorry,” Techno looked down at his trembling hands, he was scared they would begin attacking him. Phil realized what happened and pulled Techno back in for a hug. 

“Shhh. It’s okay. you’re safe.” He ran his hand through Techno’s hair. Phil counted for Techno, counting from 10 down to 1. 

After a few long moments Techno pulled away, he needed to check on Tommy. He stepped away and began walking toward Tommy, who was now on his feet. 

“Theseus, I-“ He reached a hand out but Tommy flinched away. Fear filled his eyes. “Please I really didn’t-“ Before he could finish Tommy had taken off, Wilbur and Tubbo followed closely behind. 

“He’ll need a moment,” Phil’s hand clasped around Techno’s shoulder. “Give him time, he’s never fought anyone before.” 

“But I-“ Techno looked at his hands. “I tried to hurt him. Like really hurt him” 

“That wasn’t you mate, those voices.” Phil tapped the side of his head, “They’ll drive you insane if you don’t keep em in check.”. 

Techno stared off in the direction Tommy had flown away. He hadn’t wanted to hurt Tommy. Tommy just wanted to train with him and he had tried to hurt him. 

“How do you know about the voices?” He asked quietly. Phil chuckled. 

“I’ve had em for years. It’s scary at first, but you learn to live with them.” Techno felt slightly comforted. 

“I need to apologize to Tommy,” 

“Give him some time, he’s shaken up. Once he comes back then you can,” Techno nodded and looked down at his hands. He was scared, but Phil seemed to be ready to help him. 

It would take many days before Tommy was ready to listen to Technoblade’s apology. And it would be nearly a year before Tommy got the courage to train again, even longer before he could spar Techno. 

He was still hurt that Phil never came to check on him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> would you guys read it if i made a spin off book from this au with like little stories from when the boys were little ? like a one shot kind of deal


	8. Hot Chocolate Discussions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilbur’s not happy

It was a cold night, winter had settled in nicely and the house was quiet. Tommy and Tubbo were dead asleep in their room, a long day of snow ball fights and sledding had them tuckered out. 

The small chatterings in the kitchen kept Wilbur awake. He was curious to know what they were saying. He slowly crept out of his bed, making sure not to step on the creaky floorboards. Making sure to stay out of sight, Wilbur crept to the hallway near the kitchen where Techno and Phil sat over some hot chocolate. 

“I want to wait until after winter is over so we can plant the next harvest, we can’t leave the boys without any trade material,” Phil stirred his hot chocolate calmly. 

“If we leave sooner we can get there before everyone else and send money home,” Techno calmly argued, his hot chocolate already gone. 

Wilbur took a second to understand what was going on, it sounded like they were discussing leaving together. He was used to Phil going on trips, but why would Techno go with him. Why would Technoblade go and not him? 

“Come on Phil, this is a once in a lifetime chance. If we wanna do good we gotta get there sooner than later,” Techno gave Phil a small punch on the arm. “Well do great and then we can send all the money and food in the world home for them,” 

“Wil’s never planted a harvest on his own, it would be better for me to be here just in case,” Phil rubbed his arm. 

A small flame of anger grew inside Wilbur’s chest, they couldn’t possibly be considering leaving him. He couldn’t take care of Tommy and Tubbo on his own. 

“Phil, you can come back and visit once we get settled. But we can’t miss out on this,” Techno pleaded. 

“Fine, we’ll prepare to leave and-“ Wilbur had heard enough, he turned to go back to his room but the floor creaked underneath him. 

Phil and Techno turned their heads quickly, ending the conversation. They had been trying to hide the topic from the rest of the household. Phil crept out into the hallway. 

“Wil?” He called out, Wilbur slowly turned around trying to hide the anger that burned in his chest. “You heard it all didn’t you?” 

“I heard enough to know you’re leaving me,” He clenched his fists. 

“Wil it’s not like that, I promise.” Phil stepped toward him but Wilbur stepped away. 

“Then what is it like? Because to me if looks like you’re leaving me again.” Wilbur thought back on the times that Phil would be gone for weeks to months at a time to go on ‘trips’. 

“Techno and I got invited to a land grab competition. If we win we’ll get a lot of money that we can bring home to you guys.” Phil explained. Techno had been competing in various local competitions and making a name for himself, it was no surprise he got invited to a big event like this. 

“How long will you be gone?” Wilbur glared at Phil, who glanced at Techno who simply shrugged. 

“Probably a long time,” Wilbur turned to walk away but Phil grabbed his arm. “But... Once things get rolling we’ll be able to come back and visit, bring money home,” 

Wilbur wanted to be angry, but he just couldn’t. Phil was doing this to give them a better income, he couldn’t be angry with that even though he really wanted to.

“And I’m supposed to stay and take care of the boys?” Phil sighed but nodded. 

“I’m really sorry, but it’s too dangerous to bring you guys.” He put his hands on Wilbur’s shoulders, “It’s for all of us,” 

“When’re you leaving?” Wilbur needed to know how much longer he had with his dad. 

“In about a week most likely,” Phil let go of Wilbur. “But we’re going to have everything prepared for you and the boys so you won’t need to worry about trading unless you really want something,” Wilbur nodded and slumped back to his room. He spent hours thinking, contemplating, fanning the flames of anger. 

A week later they did leave. Technoblade and Philza off to conquer the world. Tommy and Tubbo were sad but they had each other to keep company. Wilbur just felt alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m working on Fundy’s chapter and oh boy


	9. Sad Sight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short domestic chapter kinda

It was months before the boys saw Phil again. Days become long and boring, many times they could be found huddled on the couch listening to Tommy’s discs. 

The day was rainy when Phil returned for the first time. The boys had fallen asleep on the couch, limbs tangled everywhere. Phil knocked on the door and when no one answered after a few moments he simply walked in. 

A smile grew across his face when he saw the boys sleeping. A disc played softly in the background. He decided to make them some tea for when they woke up. 

It was a small moment, but quickly became one of Phil’s favorites. 

It was Wilbur that woke up first, he yawned and stretched before he even noticed the warm smell of tea. His head snapped over to the small kitchen and he nearly began to cry when he saw Phil, who was simply waving at his son. 

Wilbur quickly untangled himself from the sleep pile, waking Tommy and Tubbo in the process. He didn’t care though, he tackled Phil in a hug. Tommy and Tubbo joined the hug not long after. Tubbo was the first to break out of the hug. 

“Where’s Techno?” He asked, looking around. Phil chuckled a bit. 

“He had to stay back at the competition. Someone’s gotta hold down the fort ya know?” Phil ruffled Tubbo’s hair. “Your horns are growing in,” He chuckled. Tubbo’s small horn stubs had finally began growing, now becoming a bit more noticeable. 

“How long are you staying?” Tommy asked. He hope Phil would stay for a while. 

“Probably a week or so, I wanna help you guys with the harvest.” Phil finally looked at Tommy and his jaw dropped. His sons normally white wings were completely filthy. “Tommy, why are you wings so dirty?” 

“You normally clean them, I don’t really know how,” Tommy looked at his feet. He subconsciously tucked his wings back. 

“Why don’t you sit down and let me clean them,” He smiled and sat down on the couch, leaving space for Tommy to sit in front of him. 

There they sat for most of the day. They sat over tea and caught up. Phil laughed over the stories of Tommy and Tubbo’s hijinks. Wilbur enjoyed hearing about the new Antarctic Empire that Phil and Techno were creating. 

Phil didn’t stay long, he helped the boys get started on planting and then took off a few days later. He promised he’d be back soon. 

As much as Wilbur enjoyed having his father back he still felt quite bitter. He wanted Phil to stay. He didn’t want to be alone. 

Tommy had come to Wilbur that night just like he did when they were little, asking if Phil still cared about them. It broke his heart to see Tommy like this. 

“He didn’t even teach me to clean my own wings until now,” Tommys voice broke. The boy had always been conscious about his similarities to Phil, but sometimes it got too overwhelming for him. 

This is how the next year or so went, months without Phil and then a single visit. But as time went on the visits got shorter and shorter. 

After some time Wilbur had decided that he would try and fix this. The boys and him would find a new home. 

For the next week Wilbur took notes on upcoming towns, each of the boys would be sent to one to see if it was the right fit. Once there they would contact the others and they would all move together. 

Phil obviously didn’t need them, so Wilbur decided he didn’t need Phil either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’ve started working on a couple of little chapters from their childhood   
> might post em might not, we will have to see


	10. A New Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :)

Tommy wouldn’t lie to himself, he was scared. He’d never been out on his own before. Wilbur or Tubbo were always right there next to him. 

But Wilbur promised him this was for the best. He would go to the DreamSMP and see if that could be their new home. 

It took him a few days to reach the SMP, he had never spent the night alone. He was scared, and barely slept. But he had to keep going. For Wilbur and Tubbo. 

Walking was boring, but flying was exhausting. So he took turns between both. 

He was flying when he noticed a building on a lake in the distance. This had to be it. He quickly glided down to the bridge, excitement ached in every bone. 

“Hey!” Tommy turned to the house when he heard the shout, “Who are you?” There were three people in front of the house, all holding weapons. Tommy held his hands up. 

“I’m Tommy, tommyinnit,” He chuckled to himself. “I’m looking for a place to settle down. Would you fellas know if this is the dream smp?” 

The men looked at each other, one stepped forward. He dawned a mask and a green hoodie, and gripped an axe that had a dulled glow in the sunlight. 

“I’m Dream,” He examined Tommy for a moment, it was hard to tell what he was thinking behind that mask. “Why should we let you settle here?” 

“Well, I’m awesome for one,” He couldn’t help but smile when the two flanking Dream chuckled and glanced to each other. “Two I can fly,” Tommy stretched out his white wings that had been tucked tightly behind him before. “So I can help with stuff,” 

“Give us a minute,” Dream called the other two into a huddle. They took turns looking back at him and then turning again to whisper. 

“You know my dad taught me it was rude to whisper about people!” Tommy yelled to them. Finally Dream turned around and crossed his arms. 

“You can stay,” Tommy gave himself a silent yes, “But you’ll have to pull you’re own weight. I’m in charge here and you listen, got it?” 

“That seems like kind of a bitch move, you run the place named after yourself,” The one with the goggles went to say something but Tommy stopped him. “But I respect it, so let’s get to it,” 

The other two introduced themselves as Sapnap and George. The rest of the night Tommy spent messing with them and them subsequently exiling him. But it was all in good fun. 

He spent the next few days settling in, he sent a letter off to Wilbur and Tubbo. He had found their new home. 

He began to build his house, a little build inside of a hill. But it was his. After a hard days work he sat down and listened to his disc. Everything felt right. Then there was a knock on the door. He quickly put the disc away and rushed to the door. From the little holes in the door he could see George’s goggles. 

“Hello gogy,” He deadpanned as he opened the door. George rolled his eyes. 

“Hello Tomathy. You have a friend,” Tommy suddenly became disinterested in George and looked behind him to see Tubbo. 

He rushed over and tackled his friend in a hug, wrapping his wings around the both of them. The boys erupted into laughter. 

“Look at you, got your own place and everything!” Tubbo laughed as they pulled away. Tommy smiled and grabbed Tubbo hand, pulling him into the house. 

“Thanks George!” Tommy yelled as he slammed the door, the boys laughed as George groaned and walked away. 

Tommy gave Tubbo a quick house tour, explaining how amazing each room was and how he did it all by himself. But Tubbo seemed to look a bit sad. 

“So I guess this means we’re not sharing a room anymore?” He laughed almost bitterly. 

“Tubbo we can-“ He was cut off. 

“No, no, no. It’s fine I promise, I’m just gonna miss it a bit. But it’ll be good to have our own space,” Tommy couldn’t help but feel bad, he hadn’t even thought about their old room. “Now come on!” Tubbo grabbed his hand, “Show me around!” 

The two spent the rest of the day wandering the smp and bothering different people. They found George quite fun to mess with, but Dream was a bit intimidating. 

Either way they were happy, things were looking up for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter my gecko got sick and it’s just been a rough time with school 
> 
> but writing helps me de stress so yay !!


	11. The Duel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> techno is back baby

Tommy had gone to the community house to collect some items for his house when he overheard George and Dream talking. Dream was to be leaving soon. Curiosity obviously got the better of him and he asked where he was going. 

“I got invited to a duel. Me against this dude who’s supposed to be really good, big money prize,” Dream laughed and nudged George. 

“Maybe if he beats you he’ll be good enough to beat me,” Tommy fluffed out his wings to make himself look bigger. 

“Yeah right,” George chuckled, “Like you could go up against Technoblade,” 

Tommys wings dropped at the mention of the name. No way. No way was Dream going to fight his brother. No way Dream was going to beat his brother. He hadn’t seen Techno in years, he’d always refused to visit. But if Techno was there maybe Phil would be there. He missed Phil. 

“Do you think I could come watch?” Tommy began fiddling with his hands, he couldn’t believe he might get to see Phil again. 

“I mean,” Dream glanced to George. “I don’t see why not. Why? You a big fan of Technoblade?” 

“No I wanna see you get your ass kicked,” Tommy replied without thinking. They all laughed and began discussing plans to head out a few days later. 

Tommy flew to Tubbo’s house after, jumping up and down explaining everything. Tubbo was excited for him but declined when he was asked to come with. Phil was great to Tubbo, but Tubbo had a dad. He wasn’t sure where but he was sure of it. Though he’d always be grateful to Phil he still wanted to meet his dad. 

Tommy could barely contain myself when it was finally the day to leave. He was practically flying circles around Dream and George. They of course poked fun at him calling him a fan, to which they were called bitches. 

The arena was much larger than Tommy could’ve ever imagined. He’d seen the Hypixel arenas but those paled in comparison to this. Inside there was what seemed like a million seats. His attention was drawn to a panel of seats near the front rows. A very tall man ran up to them, a shorter one in a very vibrant hoodie next to him. 

Tommy didn’t care to listen as they exchanged greetings. He came here for one thing. He tuned out the rest of the group and began searching for Phil and Techno. 

“And who’s this?” The stranger asked, extending his hand out to him. Tommy didn’t realize at first until George nudged him. He quickly snapped back to reality and shook the mans hand. 

“I’m Tommy.” He continued to look around, “Has Technoblade shown up yet?” The group laughed at him for a brief moment but stopped when Tommy didn’t respond and simply continued looking around. 

“Technoblade is already down in his room getting ready,” Tommys shoulders dropped. “I’m sure you can see him after,” The man offered. 

“No, no.” Tommy shook his head quickly, “I was hoping someone had come with him,” He stopped looking around and finally noticed the crowd that had surrounded Dream. 

“Oh!” The man snapped his fingers, “Techno did come with someone actually. I think he went with him into the room,” 

“Big man, please. Can I go see him?” Tommy begged quietly, he didn’t want George and Dream to see him do this but he had to see Phil. “I know them, and it’s really important.” The man scratched his beard for a moment before nodding. 

“Duel starts in about an hour, Chandler will come and tell you guys when to leave the room,” Tommy almost hugged the man, but instead he thanked him a bunch and practically ran to the room. 

After many flights of stairs he reached the door. It was wooden and old but behind it was Phil. Tommy went to knock but stopped himself for a moment. Would they be happy to see him? Would they be mad that he left home? Questions swirled in his head as he bounced on his heels. Finally he got the courage and knocked a few times. 

There was quiet shuffling in the room, a quick yell to hold on a second, and then the door creaked open. Tommy held his breathe and puffed out his wings. 

“No way the duels starting now they said- “ Phil turned as he opened the door and noticed Tommy. It took him a second to take it in. “Toms?” 

Tommy nodded quickly before hugging his dad. Phil hesitated a moment, still processing what was happening. After a moment Phil gently pushed Tommy away. 

“Tommy, what? How? What’re you doing here?” He stumbled over his words. Tommys wings dropped. 

“What do you mean? I came to see you and Techno!” Phil nodded and let Tommy come into the room. Techno was sharpening his sword. 

“Techno! Big man! Big T! Haven’t seen you in years How’ve you been? I like the braid!” Tommy opened his arms to Techno but received nothing more than a quick hello and a glance. 

Phil and Techno continued on their conversation, leaving Tommy feelings very out of place. He tried to jump in, be loud, but he was brushed off. 

After awhile someone came and took Tommy and Phil from the room. This was Tommy’s chance. It was just him and Phil. He began telling him stories of what’s been going on. Like when him and Tubbo almost set the house on fire, or when Wilbur nearly hit him in the head with his guitar. Finally he mentioned their new home and Phil stopped him. 

“You guys left home?” He was in shock, “Who’s taking care of the farm?” 

“No one, we left you a note on the table. Have you not seen it?” Phil shook his head, explaining that he had been busy helping Techno prepare for the duel. “Oh, well Wilbur thought it was time for us to branch out, I haven’t seen him since we left but he’s going to come live with me and Tubbo’s working on his house,” 

“It was Wilbur’s idea to leave?” Phil asked, Tommy nodded and continued on with his stories. Leaving Phil to wonder why Wilbur would want to leave. 

The fight was about to begin, each round using different weapons. Ten rounds. Tommy was on the edge of his seat. 

Each round was more intense than the last as the stakes grew higher and higher. It was the last eight, axes and shields. Everyone watched closely as the two went after each other. 

An arrow was fired, flying past Technoblade’s face. He lunged forward, as Dream scrambled back he swung. In one quick moment both Techo and Dream lost something important. Techno’s braid that he had been growing out was gone, but Dreams loss was much more interesting. 

His mask was gone, Techno took this chance and managed to knock Dream off his feet and get his axe to his throat. He had won. 

From across the arena George rushed down to Dream’s prep room. After a moment of being praised and giving Techno a handshake Dream ran to the room as well. Emerging a few moments later dawning a new mask. 

“Phil! Phil look he did it! Techno won!” Tommy was jumping up and down, not realizing that he had called Phil by his name. Phil didn’t mention it, though it stung a bit. He smiled and patted Tommy on the back. 

“Let’s go congratulate him,” Phil and Tommy flew down into the arena together, landing near Techno who had since picked up his braid. 

“Years of growing it out for nothin’” He shook his head, “Did you see me do good?” They laughed and chatted, Tommy now able to get some words in as the tensions and gone down. “Y’know, I’m gonna split the reward with Dream. He put up one hell of a fight,” 

Tommy argued that the money should all go to him since he traveled to far just to see his dear family. Things were going alright when George ran up to the group. 

“Tommy we’re leaving, are you coming back with us?” He was out of breathe from running. Tommy nodded, he had no other way to get home. 

“I guess I’ll see you two soon enough,” He gave both a hug, though made fun of Techno for smelling like sweat from the fight. 

“Tommy, you’re doing good,” Phil gave him a pat on the shoulder, Tommy beamed. 

The journey hime wasn’t too bad, though things were a bit quiet after the fight. Tommy was careful not to push too much. 

“Why’d you come Tommy? You ran off as soon as Jimmy said you could,” Dream asked as they settled down their things to camp for the night. 

“Just seeing an old friend,” Tommy began to clean his feathers besides the fire. 

“You mean Technoblade?” George cut in, “You’re his friend?” Tommy scoffed. 

“Of course! We trained together when I was little. I kicked his ass all the time,” He boasted, a smile growing across his face. 

“Yeah right,” George rolled his eyes behind his goggles. 

“Oh yeah bitch, you wanna see?” Tommy threatened. The boys messed with each other like this for the rest of the night until Dream yelled at them to go to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the lack of updates been busy with some other things and i’ve been working ahead and keep forgetting i need to post here too


	12. Start of a New Era

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wilbur is back :)

It was a bright day when Wilbur arrived. Though Tommy didn’t know at first, he was working on his basement. 

Wilbur hadn’t bothered to knock when George dropped him off at the house. George warned him that Tommy didn’t like intruders but Wilbur assured him he’d be fine. 

He dodged the trap at the front door and began looking around. He checked the chests, surprised to see the amount of junk lying around in them. 

“You son of a bitch..” He turned around to see Tommy glaring at him, “This is my house you think you can just walk right in. Are you dumb?” Tommys wings spread out as he stomped towards his big brother. 

“Now be nice Phil isn’t that bad, and I’m your big brother I don’t need to ask permission to come in your house!” 

“Yes you do this is my house!” They continued to bicker for a few moments before Wilbur grabbed Tommy and hugged him. 

“I missed you,” Tommy muttered it back before pushing Wilbur away softly. 

“What took you so long? Tubbo’s already started building a house,” Wilbur smiled and motioned for Tommy to follow him. They headed out into the woods, Tommy was confused until he saw lights up ahead. 

“I found an old competition site and stole a drug van!” Wilbur gave little jazz hands as Tommy stared at the van. “We can make a drug empire! Sell to everyone here!” 

It wasn’t long before Wilbur’s idea for a drug empire turned into the idea for a country. Somewhere where he could keep his family safe. Even the newest member of his family. His new son Fundy. 

One night Wilbur walking around L’manberg, thinking of new battle strategies to try and outsmart Dream. His boots became covered in the mud from the rain that poured down. There had to be something they could do. He then heard small cries. 

He turned to the bushes, the source of the crying. Carefully peeling back the leaves to reveal a small baby, a fox baby. When the baby saw Wilbur it began reaching out with one paw, the other paw held onto a dead salmon that the baby had presumably been chewing on. Wilbur cautiously picked the baby up, when the baby dropped the salmon he kicked it away. 

The baby held onto his coat, his paws scratching at the shiny buttons. Wilbur looked around and saw no one, the baby was swaddled in a blanket so there was no way this was just a fox cub. He thought of Techno, perhaps the baby could shapeshift like him. 

Wilbur opened his coat a bit to give the baby some shelter from the rain and he ran back to the van. 

Tommy and Tubbo had left for their houses for the night, but because they were there so often Wilbur had stocked up on lots of snacks. He looked through them, unsure of what to give to a fox. Finally he landed on some berries Tubbo had brought over earlier. The fox seemed to enjoy it. 

Wilbur sighed and leaned against the wall before sinking down to sit. He sang a soft tune until the baby fell asleep. He stared down at the little one, fatherhood wasn’t anything he had expected anytime soon. But now he had even more reason to fight for this country he was making. He watched the little one breathe softly, making a promise to himself to be better than Phil was to him and Tommy. And he sat there, quietly humming until his own breathing synced up and he fell asleep there on the floor with his new baby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter! butttt fundy’s chapter is next and i’m really excited to get it out to you guys once i polish it up!! 
> 
> also thank you guys for all the love! i’m so happy that so many people enjoy my story and i can’t wait to keep posting it!


	13. The War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> speed run fundy’s childhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY HEY PLEASE READ THIS  
> 1\. is using they/them pronouns for eret  
> 2\. the lines represent their lives. the idea is that each time they lose a life the lines will appear briefly when they respawn, jumanji style almost  
> 3\. I know it feels like I brushed off Fundy being trans but there is a reason for that. I am cis, it would be wrong for me to write a trans characters experience being trans. I would never be able to portray it accurately and it’s just not right. but i also know how important that element of fundy’s character is to so many fans and i would never erase that. anyways i hope you like the chapter :)  
> 

Growing up in the back of a drug van was not the best childhood, but it’s what Fundy had. He grew much faster than anyone could’ve anticipated, it seems as though he was smarter and bigger everyday. 

Wilbur loved Fundy, but he had to admit it was a bit shocking when Fundy turned in the bow on his head for a bow tie around his neck and gave himself a new name. But nevertheless he was accepted and they went with it. The father and son duo. 

Growing up during the war was hard. Many days were spent training just in case the rest of the smp decided to play dirty and target him. It was a scary, but realistic possibility. 

He often remembered how tired his dad would look, waking up every time he heard a crack in the night. His dad was paranoid, mostly for Fundy’s sake. But even though Wilbur was often exhausted he always sang Fundy a song while he fell asleep. Later on Fundy would often have trouble falling asleep, missing the sweet strums of the guitar and his fathers songs. 

No matter how tired his dad was there was almost always some time for Fundy. They often sat in the field, working on Fundy’s shifting. His dad loved telling stories of his brother Technoblade and his shifting, all the mischief the two would get into as children. Later when Wilbur was slain Fundy would often go to this field, feel the sun on his fur and reminisce. 

Fundy was promised the world, his dad would bring him up to the top of the walls and show him L’manburg. Telling him stories and singing to him. 

He learned to walk on those walls. His dad calling out for his little champion as he took his first steps. He would’ve never guessed those walls would fall by his own hands. 

Fundy was only a child when the war came to an end, but it’s a day he could never forget. 

Fundy was out training with Eret that day, working on his defensive stance. He loved training with Eret, who was much more lenient than his dad when it came to breaks and mistakes. 

Tommy and Tubbo ran to them, both out of breathe. The war had begun, Tubbo had been attacked and they were on the run. They began running, Eret holding Fundy’s small paw. They hadn’t gotten much a start when there was footsteps not far behind them. Fundy tried to crane his head back to see, but he lost Eret’s hand and fell over. There was a moment of panic, Fundy thought it was it. The day his dad had warned him about had come. But Eret scooped him back up and they continued running. 

There was a sigh of relief amongst the group as they entered the walls of their home. His father was asleep, leaning against the van but jumped awake when he heard them approaching. 

“What? What’s going on?” He scanned the group, upon seeing Fundy’s dirtied elbows he took his son from Eret and began examining him. “What happened to you? Are you alright?” 

“He tripped while we were running,” Eret began explaining. 

“Running from what? What is going on?” Wilbur set Fundy down after dusting him off, looking around at those in front of him. “Is someone going to explain?” 

“The war, it’s here,” Tubbo started, “Sapnap and George attacked me at my house, I met up with Tommy we went to Eret and Fundy and came here. They shouldn’t be far behind,” 

The timing couldn’t have been better, a warning shot landed by Wilbur’s feet. There on the walls was Dream and his entourage, dressed in full armor. 

Once again Fundy was grabbed as they escaped into the van. Wilbur set Fundy on his small bed in the back room and gave him some toys while they began planning. He couldn’t just sit there, he crept into the doorway and listened into the conversation. Though the frequent pings of arrows against the walls were a bit distracting. 

He squeezed Tubbo’s hand as his father and Tommy stepped outside, barely avoiding the rain of arrows, and set up a meeting. 

They suited up, Fundy even got his own armor and uniform especially made for him. His dad sewed the uniform together himself. 

“Wilbur, is it really best that we bring Fundy? He could get hurt,” Eret looked at the him, they couldn’t help but feel like the sight of the child in armor was wrong. 

“You think I can leave him here? He’ll be taken hostage or worse. We can’t risk it. He’s safer with us,” Wilbur rambled as he rushed to get some armor on. 

So they set off, they met underneath the towers. Eret held his hand as Wilbur and Tommy began talking, he watched the birds fly by. He was distracted, so he was caught off guard when the ground underneath him began to give. 

Fundy grabbed Eret and screamed, he was losing his balance as the ground crumbled and flew. They ran into Tommys house in the hill, barely escaping the debris. 

Tommy rallied everyone as the rain of fire tipped arrows. Fundy didn’t listen, he couldn’t listen. His sensitive ears rang and and his paws shook. 

The arrows stopped coming, they peeked out to see the other side retreating. 

“We should head back to L’manburg,” Eret piped up, Fundy spoke up and agreed. He wanted his room, he wanted the safety of the van. 

They got payback on Dream as they rained arrows on them from far above. Fundy even got to shoot a few. 

They then made their way back to L’manburg Fundy held Eret’s hand, their grip seemed to get stronger as they got closer and closer. 

“Follow me,” Eret announced, leading the group down a long tunnel. They still held Fundy’s hand tightly. 

Fundy looked around the room, immediately darting for the chest with his name on it. He was confused to open it to nothing. 

The next moments would haunt Fundy for years to come. 

“It was never meant to be,” Then the yelling started. There was a mad dash to understand what was going on. 

His name was called, Fundy saw his dad reaching out for him. Fundy tried to run to him only to the sword run through him. This would not be the last time Fundy saw this sight. 

He screamed for his dad, he tried to run up and hug him before his body turned to dust. 

His name was called a second time, this time it was Eret. Eret rushed forward, trying to grab Fundy. Fundy didn’t want them, he barely understood what had happened but he knew Eret led them here. Eret let the bad people in. 

He scrambled to get away but someone accidentally knocked him down, his head hit something and it all went dark. 

He woke up back in his bed. His dad sitting next to it. Wilbur rushed and hugged Fundy, profusely apologizing to him. He checked Fundy’s wrist, for a brief moment two lines appeared. His dad cried even more as he saw this. 

Though he would accept the apology then he would later grow resentful towards Wilbur for allowing him to be apart of this war. 

Tommy and Tubbo ran into the van, Dream and George were outside. When they got outside they were threatened. Fundy’s ears twitched in anticipation. His paws shook as he watched what was going on. 

There was laughing, then screaming again. Fundy was whisked off his feet by Tommy as they dove for cover. 

His home, the place he’d grown up in. It was gone. His room. Fundy ran through the rubble, his fur dripping wet from diving into the lake for cover. 

His toys were scattered and charred. He picked up one of the toys, it was an old pig doll with a crown. It was made by his dad. His dad was rather good at sewing. Wilbur used it when re-enacting stories from his own childhood. It was burned. He sunk to his knees. And watched the flames burn. 

Eventually Tubbo came to him and led him up the walls. While he had zoned out Tommy had agreed to a duel. Fundy and Tubbo were to watch from atop the walls, out of range and out of sight. 

The duel was quick, an arrow embedded itself in Tommys wing and sent him downwards into the water. Tubbo screamed and began his way to his friend. Leaving Fundy atop the walls, where he sat and thought. 

Fundy thought about his fathers exhausted face every morning as he fussed over the war. He thought about everything that everyone had lost. This wasn’t the world his dad had promised him. Fundy decided he wanted to make that world a reality. 

They had won independence and began running their country. Fundy, still rapidly growing, tried to speak up and bring in his own thoughts. He was brushed off. 

So when the election came he tried to run against his father, he wanted to bring positive change to L’manburg. The change his dad promised him as a child. He was so desperate to win that the night before he falsified votes. But of course Wilbur caught on and threw out those votes. 

He didn’t win, but neither did his dad. That’s what mattered to him. He was happy, he gladly watched his father be run out of the country. When Schlatt came to him offering him a voice, he took it. Fundy gladly teared down the walls that encaged him as a child in exchange for a chance to create the world he was promised. 

Though it didn’t take long for him to see through to Schlatt’s true colors. He began keeping a diary of all the states secrets. Maybe one day his father would forgive him enough to trust him and take the diary. Until then he continued to work under Schlatt, he still wanted to help the country his father worked so hard to build.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter took forever but ive been really nervous about this chapter but i’m really excited to finally have it out to you guys :D  
> chapters might be a little slower the next week or so as i’m trying to write a bit ahead in case something comes up and i can’t write


	14. One Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> l’manburg is free but at what cost ?

There was pain. Tommy hit the water. He heard Wilbur call his name. His hand tried to reach out, but he felt too weak. Why was it so bright? 

“Tommy! Tommy!” There was splashing as Wilbur knelt into the water to help. “Tommy look at me, stay with me. We’re gonna get you fixed up.” Wilbur was always such a great big brother. He held his brothers hand, he squeezed lightly before he felt himself slip away. 

It was a rainy day when Wilbur found the discs. Techno and Phil had gone out to practice tracking, little Tommy was napping on the couch. 

Wilbur had dragged down a couple of boxes from the attic and began to go through them. Trophies upon trophies from Phil’s adventures all collecting dust in boxes. Lots of skulls, some looked like the skeletons that would often lurk around the edges of their property but others looked different. They looked darker. 

Fascination filled the room as Wilbur pulled out different things as he rummaged through the old boxes. As he reached around through the box his fingers ran along the ridges of something. He immediately became intrigued and began throwing things around to get to it. 

He pulled out two music discs. He felt the grooves along the surface. They read Cat and Mellohi. Phil had never mentioned something like this, but Wilbur remembered the old jukebox in the corner of the room. He began to dust off the old thing and tried to figure out how to work it. 

Little Tommy decided this was a great time to wake up. He began crying and reaching out for his brother. 

Wilbur panicked for a second, normally the only way to calm Tommy down was to sing to him, maybe the discs? He slid the cat disc into the old jukebox. In a moment it whirred to life and a tune began to fill the room. 

Tommy crying slowly stopped, Wilbur smiled and laid down next to him. He allowed his little brother to curl into him as he fell back asleep. There the two of them stayed, frozen in time.

He woke up back in his house. Without thinking he looked to his wrist, one line appeared. In the span of one day he’d lost nearly all his lives. 

Wilbur and Tubbo rushed into the room, they both buried him in a hug. Wilburs face was sticky with tears. 

“We lost, didn’t we?” Tommy asked weakly. “I failed,” 

“Tommy, no! You did great!” Tubbo held his hand, both of them felt a bit better with the interaction. “You may have lost and L’manburg may not be free, but we’re gonna keep fighting!” Tommy shook his head. 

“I failed, I failed you guys and I need to fix this,” Tommy slowly stood up, there was a pain in his wing. He looked to it, it was sore and there was a mess where the arrow had found itself earlier. Even though he respawned there was still remnants of what happened. 

“Tommy, what do you mean you’re gonna fix this?” Wilbur cautiously grabbed his arm. “You should rest, it’s been a long day,” 

“I’m going to give Dream what he wants,” Tommy yanked his arm back and walked towards the enderchest. A dark realization washed over them, they knew what Tommy was doing. 

“Tommy, you don’t need to do that we can fight-“ Tubbo was cut off. 

“We tried fighting, we lost. I failed. L’manburg is in ruin so I’m ending this now,” Tommy grabbed his discs. The discs that had comforted him as a child. The discs Wilbur found for him. His hands shook as he held them. This had to be done. For L’manburg. 

The walk out of his house was solemn. Tommys grip on the discs tightening as they got closer. Dream came into view, laughing with his friends. Tommy tightly tucked his wings behind him.

“Tommy!” Dream called out as he realized they had shown up, “How can I help you?” Tommy wanted to break that dumb smiley mask that seemed to stare right through him. 

“Dream,” He held out this discs. “Give L’manburg freedom and you can have these,” 

Dream tensed, almost as if in thought. Everyone could feel the calculating stare Dream gave Tommy. He strolled up to Tommy, his hands in his pockets. Tommy gripped the discs so hard his knuckles turned white. His back sore from tensing his wings so much. 

“Pleasure doing business with you,” Dream held out his hand. Tommy sighed, Wilbur put his hand on his shoulder as he handed the discs over. “Wilbur and I can discuss the details in the morning,” He didn’t understand why Dream wanted them, they meant so much to Tommy. They were one of the only things he had left of their childhood home. “L’manburg is free,” And with that, Dream rushed off to an enderchest. 

Wilbur and Tubbo began celebrating, shouting and pushing each other. Tommy couldn’t help but feel a bit detached. His discs were gone. He needed them back, he couldn’t let Dream keep them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey !! i’m really excited for these next chapters as we get more into the lore but i’m also working on some side stories of tommy and tubbo as kids that i might post (it would follow this au so i’d probs make a collection)


	15. Fathers Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> schlatt :)

Schlatt always hoped he’d get to bring Tubbo home one day. He worked hard at his new job, rising in the ranks quickly. Soon enough he had his own place and was ready to bring his son home. 

It had been years, he honestly had no idea if he’d still be in that old little town he’d left him in. 

Nonetheless he took a week off work and set off. He was determined to bring Tubbo home. He had made himself a better life, he made them a better life. 

It was a rather nice day when he got to town. He headed down to the new bakery and bought some cookies, Tubbo used to love making cookies with him. They were never any good but they always had so much fun baking together. 

Schlatt also brought a blanket, it was a light blue one with little bees on it. He had bought it when he got his first paycheck and kept it wrapped up for the day he could give it to his son. 

Every step was full of nerves as he headed towards Phil’s house in the woods. He even brought an envelope full of money to make up for all the years of taking care of Tubbo. A smile was across his face from ear to ear. 

He could hear laughing as he got closer and closer to the house. The excitement became so much he didn’t even realize he was running. 

There was a pause before Schlatt got too close to the house. It felt too good to be true. 

There Tubbo was, so close, he was right there. He looked so happy. 

He looked so happy. 

Tubbo’s friend had him by the wrists, Tubbo’s feet were a bit off the ground as they flew. They were laughing and screaming all at once. 

When Schlatt envisioned what he wanted for Tubbo he saw this, Tubbo happy, laughing, having fun, being a kid. He couldn’t take this from him. There weren’t kids back where he lived now, Tubbo needed to be with other kids. 

He turned to leave, he had to leave. But he ran into someone, a kid with long pink hair. 

“Can I help you?” The kid asked skeptically, holding his sword tightly. 

“Oh, uh, hey kid,” Schlatt began scratching the back of his neck, “Um, I’m an old friend of Philza, yeah that’s it,” The kid didn’t look very impressed. 

“Well Phil is just inside if you wanna come see him,” The kid gestured to the house. 

“Oh, no man that’s fine. I just wanted to give him some things,” He shoved the cookies, envelope, and blanket to the kid. 

“You’re giving Phil a baby blanket?” The kid held up the blue blanket. 

“Yeahhh, it’s an old inside joke. He’ll get it,” Schlatt laughed and began to walk off before he was called back. 

“Got a name I can give him?” 

“Nah, don’t worry bout my name kid,” The kid was confused but said nothing. With that Schlatt left, a sinking feeling in his chest. Every step was painful, reminding him of the first time he left Tubbo there. 

He got back to town and went to the old bar he used to spent his nights in and went back to his old ways. 

Years later Schlatt would take over the company, now able to take off and get away he began traveling. This is where he met Wilbur. 

He was out inspecting an old competition sight, looking to start his own competition. There was a rustling, and out popped Wilbur. Who was friendly as ever. 

The two chatted for hours and Schlatt agreed to help Wilbur fix up an old van in exchange for Wilbur helping him set up a competition. 

Not long after they began working Wilbur got a letter asking him to leave. Schlatt laughed at him but let him go. 

Schlatt expected that to be the last he heard of Wilbur, but later on he got a letter. Wilbur needed an endorsement for an election. Why not? Wilbur was a pal. 

So he set off to this new land, a plan concocting in his head. Schlatt knew Wilbur was rigging the election, and he wouldn’t let it happen. 

The stage was large, the crowd went wild for his campaign. Things were working out nicely. Until he saw him. 

There next to Wilbur, that had to be him. It was Tubbo. No way is wasn’t him. But it had to be him. 

He couldn’t handle it, he drank himself away that night. In a moment of clarity a plan came to him. He approached Quackity and told him his plan to pool the votes. Ensure Wilbur and this rigged election didn’t succeed. 

Schlatt realized that Wilbur and Tommy weren’t the company he wanted Tubbo keeping. Wilbur rigged and election and Tommy seemed to be a ticking bomb, he didn’t want that for Tubbo. So he planned to exile them. 

Obviously this upset Tubbo but Schlatt was his dad, he knew what was best. 

“Hey Tubbo,” He saw his sons ears prick, just like they used to. “What’s your story?” 

“My story? What do you mean my story?” Tubbo was confused, no one had asked him anything like that. 

“Your story yknow? Where ya grew up, how’d ya end up here, your parents?” He paused before the last question, this was his chance to see what Tubbo thought about him. 

“Well... I grew up in a small town with Tommy and Wilbur.” Tubbo looked down at his feet, he was still a bit bitter about what happened. “My dad couldn’t take care of me, and as far as I know my mum wasn’t in the picture. Phil, that’s Wilbur and Tommys dad, took me in.” 

“Well kid, I’m sure he’d be very proud of you,” Schlatt ruffled Tubbo’s hair, revealing his small horns. “Let’s stop hiding those and start wearing em with pride,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna flesh out some dadschlatt moments in future chapters


	16. Help

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> brothers ? amirite?

“What are you doing?” 

The words rang in Tommy’s ears. He had been trying to sneak out quietly, trying to go get help. But his footsteps echoed on the ravine walls and Wilbur hadn’t lost his paranoia from the war, honestly exile only made it worse. 

Tommy slowly turned around, trying to muster up a smile to keep Wilbur off his trail. 

“Tommy. What are you doing?” Wilbur tilted his head slightly, letting his hair fall into his face. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, probably fiddling with some trinket. 

“Heyyyyy, Wilburrrrr.” Tommy did finger guns as he slowly walked backwards towards the staircase. “I’m just headed out to meet Tubbo, yeah me and Tubbo are gonna hang out, blow some shit up, yknow?” He laughed and scratched his neck, trying to seem casual. 

“Tommy it’s the middle of the night, I doubt Schlatt would let Tubbo go he barely lets him out of his sight as it is,” Shit. Wilbur knew. Tommy began to panic. 

“You don’t know it’s the middle of the night, we live in a big ass cave it could be day time and we’d never know,” Wilbur began walking towards Tommy, making his panic even worse. He knew Wilbur wouldn’t hurt him but he didn’t want Wilbur to stop him. Finally his big brother stood in front of him and leaned down to see Tommy on eye level. 

“Tommy. Don’t. Don’t lie to me. Please,” This made Tommy’s wings dropped, Wilbur sounded so genuine. He sighed and revealed his true plan. 

“I’m going to find Phil,” The air froze, the tension so thick it was suffocating. “We need help.” 

Wilbur’s eyes grew wide, he grabbed Tommys arm and began dragging him back down the ravine. Tommy tried to pry his brothers hand off him. Wilbur had never grabbed him like this, his grip was tight and began to hurt as he was dragged along. 

“Wilbur! We need help and you know it! Dad can help up! Let go of me!” Tommy finally shook Wilbur off. “I’m going to find him.” 

“Tommy. What has Phil done for you? What has Phil done for you that I haven’t, hm? Come on Tommy, tell me. I’m waiting,” 

Wilbur watched Tommy intently. Tommy just stared at his feet, unsure of what to say. Wilbur took this as an invitation to keep talking. 

“I heard your first word, I saw you take your first steps. I taught you to count, I taught you to read!” 

Tommy muttered something that Wilbur didn’t quite catch, he stepped forward and asked him to say it again. 

“Technoblade taught me to read, not you. Don’t take that from him,” The silence came back, Wilbur rolled his eyes. 

“Fine. You’re right, he taught you to read. But he also left us, don’t forget that. Him and Phil left us, left us and Tubbo alone to fend for ourselves,” Finally Tommy snapped. 

“At least let me find Technoblade! We need help, you can’t deny that. He’s fought in arenas everywhere, if anyone can help us it’s him,” 

The two brothers just watched each other for a while, both in thought. Wilbur didn’t want to crawl back to Techno for help, deep down he wondered if Phil would’ve stayed with them if it weren’t for Techno. Thought he’d never admit those feelings. But there was a desperate look in Tommy’s eyes, one he hadn’t seen in such a long time. Tommy was scared, Wilbur couldn’t ignore that. He couldn’t let Tommy get hurt. He sighed and nodded. 

“We can ask Tubbo to see what strings he can pull to get Techno here,” He turned to leave Tommy but his brother tackled him in a hug. 

“Thank you Wilbur,” He whispered, having Tommys wings wrapped around him reminded him of Phil. He laughed and pushed his little brother away. 

“Don’t thank me yet, we don’t know if Techno will actually come or not,” 

“Don’t worry, The Blade will come,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi guys ! thank you for all the love your comments mean the world to me ! 
> 
> gonna be honest this chapter has been brewing in my head for such a long time now it was probably one of my favorites to write, but we’re in pogtopia era now ! i made sure to throw in a bit of foreshadowing in here if you can catch it ;D


	17. Help Arrives

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> technoblade is back baby :)

Technoblade arrived not long after receiving the message. These were the kids he grew up with, his mentors sons, he had to help. Since the end of his potato war he had just been competing in mainly the Hypixel arena and relaxing. But an urgent message from Tommy arrived asking his for help. 

Their new home was not what he had expected, a small hidden hold in the side of a hill, if this was how they lived then Phil was right to be concerned about them leaving home. 

“Technoblade!” He was engulfed in a hug, though he laughed but was quick to push Tommy off of him. 

“Jeez kid when’s the last time you bathed? You reek,” Tommy was completely filthy, though somehow his wings were still rather clean, well as clean as Tommy kept things. 

“Excuse me. One, big man, please don’t call me a ‘kid’ Im not a ‘kid’ I am a man. Secondly, you try finding a nice spot to bathe while in exile. Sorry I don’t want to be shot in the back with my trousers down, I’d like to go out in style,” Techno was glad to see that Tommy was still in good spirits. He laughed and punched him lightly in the arm. 

“Hey at least you’ll just respawn, not too much to worry about,” This time Technoblade was the only one laughing, though his smile dropped when he saw Tommy’s grim expression. “Toms, you will respawn, won’t ya?” 

Tommy’s silence spoke volumes, and Techno knew if Tommy wanted to talk about it he would. Obviously he didn’t so he wouldn’t push. 

“Hey man it’s alright, let’s get down to the ravine and let you catch up with Wilbur. Warning though, he may take a second to warm up. He wasn’t exactly keen on asking you for help,” 

That wasnt too reassuring to Techno but he followed Tommy down a long spiral of stairs and felt a little better when he saw the ravine. It was brightly lit, he had expected worse. 

Tommy glided down to the bottom of the ravine, shouting insults at Techno the whole way down. Techno leaned over and looked down the ravine, it was steep. At the bottom Wilbur emerged from a side room, he looked, bad was the best way to put it. 

“Where’s your railings? Do you love to fall or something?” Techno yelled as he headed down the stairs. 

There Wilbur was, Technoblade was in shock. No way this was the same kid he grew up with, same kid that told everyone they were twins, or the same kid that sang him and Tommy to sleep when Phil was gone. He looked like a shell of himself, his hair a mess tucked into a beanie, a long trench coat falling down his shoulders, his hands tucked into the pockets. Techno wanted to give him a hug but doubted it would be reciprocated. 

“So? Where’s your weapons? Your farm? Show me what I’ve got to work with,” Technoblade was actually excited to help them. The two looked at each other before Tommy ran off. There was an awkward moment of silence between Wilbur and Techno before Tommy returned, wielding a stone pickaxe. “This isn’t a weapon, pickaxes aren’t weapons Tommy.” Techno sighed. 

“Well sorry we don’t have too much, we just got kicked out the country we built.” Wilbur snapped as he stalked towards Techno, “I don’t know what you expected from us, but we don’t have a lot. We’re not rich, we don’t get to run around in capes and gold jewelry in the arenas. We got exiled and this is all we have!” 

“Wilbur,” Tommy grabbed his brothers coat sleeve, “Please. He’s here to help,” Wilbur simply walked away without a word, Tommy gave Techno and apologetic glance before running after Wilbur. 

Techno had his work cut out for him but he was determined to help the boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the short chapter i’m trying to work ahead on the story but i also just started a second job


	18. Father Son Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dadschlatt i guess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY TRIGGER WARNING FOR THIS CHAPTER mentions of alcoholism and abuse please do not read if these trigger you your mental health is important just skip this chapters it’s really not that important to the plot

From the outside it would seem like Manberg was thriving. The festival was in the works, the stands were lined with banners. People were quite active. It was a beautiful facade. 

Schlatt walked down the street with Tubbo, one hand on Tubbo’s shoulder and the other wrapped around a bottle. 

“You know kid?” Schlatt led them up onto the stage, “I’m real proud of you, did you know that?” He headbutted the boys shoulder. “Real, real proud,” 

The joy that came from Tubbo radiated off of him. Schlatt stumbled a bit and laugh, after all it had only been yesterday when he found his own son spilling all his state secrets to his enemies. 

“Tubbo, go stand up by the mic,” Schlatt leaned against the chair and watched Tubbo hesitantly walk up to the microphone. “Now at the festival, you’re gonna get up here, in front of everyone, and give a grand old speech,” 

A sick sense of gratification watched over him as he saw Tubbo’s tail begin wagging like a puppy and his smile grew from ear to ear. 

“Really? You want me to speak at the festival?”

“Of course I do! You decorated the damn thing, I want you up here by my side giving a speech, what do ya say?” 

“Yes! Of course, thank you,” Tubbo ran up and hugged Schlatt, it almost made him feel bad. 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah kid, now go run along. Go start your speech or something,” Tubbo nodded and ran off the stage, headed towards the woods. Schlatt knew exactly where he was running off to. 

Schlatt would admit it, he originally wanted to be nice to Tubbo while he was in office. That was his kid after all, but sometimes the alcohol got the better of him. But there good moments in there. 

One day while patrolling Manburg with Quackity he spotted Tubbo sitting alone by the docks. He shooed Quackity away and headed down. Tubbo had dipped his feet in the water and seemed to be deep in thought. Schlatt quietly snuck up on him and scared him from behind, laughing as he jumped and nearly fell in. 

“Hey kid why you look so down? I could see your frown from my office, what’s on your mind?” He sat down next to Tubbo, who was still regaining his composure. Tubbo’s ear flicked and he began fiddling with his hands. 

“I’m just- I’m worried about Tommy. I know! I know! I know you said just to forget about them but he’s my best friend, I can’t help it.” Tubbo was tense, he stared at his fingers as he fiddled with them. Any other time he’d brought up Tommy he’d been yelled at or threatened with being hit, exiled, and sometimes killed if Schlatt was wasted enough. But he also knew better than to lie to Schlatt, those consequences often were worse, he’d see it with Quackity. 

Schlatt sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, he didn’t want to be mad at Tubbo even though he was. And the hangover wasn’t helping very much. 

“Tubbo, tell me. Do you understand what Tommy and Wilbur did? Do you understand why they’re not welcome here anymore?” There was a tense silent only for a moment, Schlatt glanced over to Tubbo who flinched slightly at the sudden movement. 

“They- they rigged the election. You know what’s best for L’manberg. I mean Manberg! And keeping them out was best.” 

“Right, because I want to keep you safe. I want to keep you, and Quackity, and the rest of Manburg safe. They aren’t safe so-“ Tubbo cut Schlatt off, shocking him quite a bit. 

“That doesn’t stop me from worrying! Tommy is out there alone and he’s probably really scared!” Tubbo paled as he realized he just shouted at Schlatt, his voice dropped all its volume but he continued, “I just want to make sure he’s okay,” Tubbo braced himself, waiting for it to finally be the day Schlatt hit him like he said he would, but luckily it never came. 

“Tubbo, I don’t know where Tommy is. But if you can find him, he can visit you at the border.” Tubbo’s face lit up and his tail began wagging, making a small wishing sound against the wood of the docks. “But, it will be supervised. Me and Quackity will be not far in case he tries anything,” 

Tubbo couldn’t believe it, he really couldn’t believe it. It wasn’t often Schlatt had a good day and would allow things like this to slide, but he was glad he managed to catch one. 

“I don’t know what to say, Schlatt I-“ 

“How’s about a thank you?” 

“Yes! Yes, of course! Thank you! Can I start looking for him now? What day can we do this? Obviously a day that works for you... What if Wilbur asks to come?” Tubbo began rambling on and stumbling over all his words, making Schlatt’s head hurt. His excitement was getting the better of the fear that’s had been instilled in him. 

“Alright, Alright kid!” Tubbo flinched again at the sudden shouting, “We will figure this out later, I got a headache right now.” Schlatt stood up and began leaving, but before he could fully walk away he turned back to say one more thing. “And Tubbo? I won’t hesitate to revoke this visit if I suspect any funny business going on.” 

Tubbo nodded, trying to hide his excitement. Schlatt was going to use this to make sure Tubbo stayed in line. Everyone had something they cared too much about, and Schlatt would use that to keep the order.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> didn’t wanna glorify the canonically abusive relationship these two had during the manberg era for the sake of the au also this chapter is kinda influenced by interactions ive had with my own mom
> 
> ALSO is it manburg or manberg ?? cause idk so i switched back and forth


	19. Sons Demise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> wilburs end

“What are you doing?” 

The words rang in Wilbur’s ears, his facade faltered for a moment. That was the last voice he wanted to hear right now. His hand was shaking over the button, he wanted so badly just to press it. 

“Phil?” He couldn’t believe it, he didn’t want to believe it. He told Tommy he didn’t want to see Phil, he gave in to letting Technoblade come to avoid this very thing. 

The question was repeated, “What are you doing?” That damned question. Whenever they would hear it as children they knew they were in trouble. It made him feel small, it made him like he was a child again. It made his blood boil. 

“We just won the war Phil! Everything’s great, you should really go congratulate Tubbo, we just made him president!” Wilbur laughed, he wanted Phil gone, he wanted Phil to go. Deep down he just didn’t want Phil to get hurt in the blast. 

Cheers rang out in the background. 

“Phil? Do you know what this button is?” Wilbur watched his father closely. 

“I do, actually.” Phil returned his sons close glare. This wasn’t the boy he raised. 

“Well I was just thinking, about the song we wrote.” He pointed to the scribbled words on the walls, “There was a special place, but it’s not there anymore.” Wilbur could practically hear the button calling his name. 

“But it is there, it’s right outside Wil. You just won it back,” 

“You know I’ve been here, seven or eight times. I’ve been so close to pressing this button,” There were footsteps above, frantic shouting. “They’re gonna come here,” Panic began to brew in Wilbur’s chest and he began shoving items into the entrance to block them away. Rambling how he didn’t want them there. “They’re all out there fighting Phil,” 

“So you just want to blow it all up?” Phil was confused, he couldn’t wrap his head around his sons logic. 

“I do,” Wilbur said quietly, “I really think I do,” He took a step forward, raising his fingers to the cold wood. “I honestly don’t even know if it works, I could just press it-“ 

“But do you really wanna take that risk?” Fireworks crackled in the background, accompanied by screams. 

The air thickened, Wilburs mind was already made up. He took a deep breathe of the stale air that surrounded them. 

“There was a saying Phil, by a traitor.” Time slowed and he smiled as tears finally broke free and ran down his face. “It was never meant to be,” 

Wilbur’s smile was pained as he pushed the button. Phil’s eyed widened before he reacted. He did the only thing he could think of, protect Wilbur. He grabbed his son and brought him close, shielding him with his wings. The heat burned at his feathers, he could feel weight lifting as feathers fell and turned to ash. But Wilbur was safe. 

Their ears rang, Wilbur got his bearings and pushed Phil away, coughing from all the dust and debris. He turned around and saluted the carnage, ignoring his fathers gasps. 

Phil jumped as Wilbur grabbed his shoulder and pointed past him at the mess. 

“My L’manberg Phil! My unfinished symphony forever unfinished!” He smiled sickly at the wreckage, the water pouring down the now exposed rock. “If I can’t have it no one can..” 

Then came the stares. Those stares bore into Wilbur’s soul, his own voices screaming at him to end it. The same voices that had been haunting him for months, telling him to blow it all sky high. A realization, no, a solution, came to Wilbur. 

“Phil. Kill me.” Philza was shocked, he backed away from Wilbur. He now realized just how sick Wilbur really was. Wilbur shoved a sword into his fathers hand. “Kill me now, stab me with this sword. Murder me Philza. Kill me. Killza. Killza!” Phil’s grip around the sword trembled as Wilbur tried to overwhelm him. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t. “They all want you to! Look at them!” 

Phil looked out to the crowd, Tommy was there. He was holding Tubbo, who had been badly hurt. Tubbo had so many scars now. The boys looked tired, and scared. But everyone was shocked at the scene before them, not sure of what to do. Wilbur continued on his ramblings before Phil snapped. 

“What about Tommy? You’ll be no good to him dead,” Phil was desperate to get Wilbur to his senses. 

“Phil,” Wilbur stepped towards him, “I was never good to him alive either,” A bitter laugh escaped him. 

“You’re my son!” He cried out, his hands still trembling. Wilbur wrapped his hands around his fathers to steady them. “No matter what, you’re my son,” Wilbur obviously didn’t like that answer. 

“Look! Look how much work went into all of this and it’s all gone! I destroyed it! Phil kill me,” 

Phil still faltered, he wanted to fix this not kill Wilbur. Before anyone could think Phil’s hands moved, Wilbur plunged the sword through himself. Wilbur’s hands lost their grip on Phil’s as he sank to the ground. 

“You couldn’t just win.” Phil laughed softly to Wilbur. He held his son close, watching as he paled. Though his eyes did lose their life now, their spark had been long gone. It was a haunting sight to see as the life drained out of him. “You couldn’t just win,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for the long wait i’ve been lacking a bit of motivation but i’m working on it


	20. New Skills Old Relations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> little bit of happy before exile

“Phil?” Tommy was in disbelief, they were standing in his house. Tubbo was asleep on the bed, covered in bandages. Tommy was sitting on the floor next to him half asleep when his dad walked in. 

“Hey Toms,” Phil smiled, “You know how to fix burns?” He stretched out his fried wings. Tommy narrowed his eyes. 

“Why would I help you?” He scoffed, “I saw what you did to Wilbur. You murdered him!” He stood up, watching his volume for Tubbo’s sake. 

“Tommy it’s not like that-“ 

“Then what is it like? Because from what I say you stabbed my big brother in front of an entire crowd of people!” 

“Tommy,” Phil took a step forward, Tommy took one back. “I didn’t want to kill him, he pushed the sword into my hand and killed himself by my hand. I don’t expect you to be happy with me, but I’m your Dad. Can I please stay?” 

Tommy sighed and nodded even though he wanted so badly to scream at him to leave. “Yeah, you can stay. I’ll patch you up,” He sat on the bed, mindful of Tubbo who was just beginning to wake up. Phil sat in front of him. 

The three sat and caught up for a bit once the tension cleared. 

“So Tubbo you excited to be the president?” Phil asked lightheartedly. 

“Oh uh, yeah I really am. I can’t wait to rebuild, I actually already have some ideas!” 

And rebuild they did. More people began moving into New L’Manburg and everyone was excited. Tommy even got his own house there, though he didn’t really live there. 

One day while decorating they discovered something. 

“Tubboooo!” Tommy yelled, a banner in his hands. “I can’t reach ittttt!” Tommy had been trying for what felt like an hour, what was really five minutes, to put up the new flag onto his house but was failing. 

Tubbo appeared around the corner, a new suit on. Fundy had actually made it, turns out he learned a bit of sewing from Wilbur. 

“Looking sharp Tubzo!” Tommy laughed, “Now can you help me get this flag up there? I’ve been trying for ages.” Tubbo laughed and took the flag into his hands. 

“Sometimes I think you’d be helpless without me,” He examined the wall, ignoring Tommy’s protests in the background his comments. “Do you think I could climb it?” 

“You? Climb that wall? It’s nearly vertical!” Tommy stared at the wall for a second. “But it’d be pretty funny to watch you try,” 

“Will you catch me if I fall?” Tubbo joked, though he was half serious. 

“You already know I will,” Tommy rolled his eyes, reminiscing on better times. 

Tubbo laughed and began looking for possible footholds in the cobblestone. He smiled and began climbing, Tommy’s jaw nearly hit the floor. 

“How are you doing that?!” Tommy yelled, startling Tubbo just enough to nearly make him lose his grip. 

“Just a natural I guess, probably whatever hybrid I am,” Tubbo laughed. He slid the flag into the holder and found his way back down to Tommy’s side. 

“We have to go scare people with this!” Tommy grabbed Tubbo’s hand and they ran to find people. 

The rest of the day was spent with Tommy distracting people while Tubbo climbed up behind them and jumped down to scare them. 

“Tubbo this is amazing!” Tommy laughed, he sat down on the bench and stretched his wings. “Do you think if I threw you at a wall you could grab it? Like if I flew up with you and threw you at a wall?” Tubbo shook his head. 

“I’d rather not find out for both of our sakes, L’manberg can’t deal with another president change,” He sat down on the bench next to his friend and watched the horizon carefully. 

“Yeah, right.” Tommy smiled bitterly, “We’re gonna be better, right? I mean, better than Schlatt and Wilbur. We’re not them.” 

“We’re gonna be so much better and we’re gonna make L’manberg awesome!” 

“And we’ll get the discs back!” Tommy added, though Tubbo didn’t really laugh along with him on that one. 

The two continued to tease each other, laughter filling the area when they heard a familiar voice that made their hearts drop. 

“Hi! I’m Ghostbur!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so sorry this is so short! honestly i was unsure what to put here but I knew i needed something before exile so hope you enjoy :) 
> 
> if you have any headcannons you’d think would be cool to throw in here lmk and maybe i can do something ! :D


	21. Exile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ye ye

“Tommy you are hereby exiled from L’manberg,” 

Tommys heart dropped. He stepped forward and reached to who he thought was his best friend 

“Tubbo, please,” He was desperate, he didn’t want to leave L’manberg. That was supposed to be home. “Please I don’t want to leave, I know I messed up but please,” His words rang empty and Tubbo turned away. 

“Dream. Please escort Tommy out of my country,” 

You could feel Dream’s triumph as he walked over to Tommy and grabbed his arm. Tommy flinched back and nearly slipped off the wall, he would’ve fallen down if it weren’t for Dream’s grip. 

“Come on Tommy, I already got a special place picked out for you,” Dream taunted, Tommy pulled his arm back and they headed off the wall. 

Tommy looked back, Tubbo wasn’t even looking, he was walking away with Fundy and Quackity on his heels. 

The cold rain began to soak through Tommy’s clothes and a shiver took over him. Dream revealed two boats and told Tommy to get in. Tommy looked back on L’manburg for the last time in a while but noticed a familiar face. 

“Ghostbur?” He called out, there he was. Ghostbur was an enigma to Tommy, he was unsure how to feel about it and so instead just tolerated him. 

“Tommy! Oh thank goodness I found you. I saw the rain and I know it hurts me but I worried about you so I wanted to give you this!” Ghostbur smiled and held out an old coat. It took a moment before it clicked, the giant rip in the back was hard to ignore. 

“Ghostbur is this Wilbur’s old coat?” Tommy asked, his voice breaking slightly. 

“Yes, now put it on please. It’s rather chilly out,” The ghost dawned an even bigger smile when he saw Tommy in the old trench coat. “See! Perfect,” They sat in silence for a sad moment, listening to the rain. 

“Ghostbur are you coming with us?” Tommy asked quietly, his voice shaking a bit. “Please, come with us,” 

“Where are we going?” Ghostbur was confused, “Are you going on vacation?” 

“Yes! Tommy’s going on a little vacation for a while.” Dream laughed a bit, anger rose in Tommy’s chest. 

“Ooh! A vacation sounds nice! I’d love to go,” 

And so they went. Tommys anger grew even worse with every step. Tommy wanted nothing more than to scream and hit Dream. 

Ghostbur helped a bit though, it felt like the best parts of his brother were back but couldn’t remember all the bad he did. Tommy knew Wilbur wasn’t a great person, but that was his brother. Ghostbur wanted to be around and be friends, so even though it hurt a bit he wanted to at least try. 

Tommy was pulled back to reality when his boat hit the shore. Dream was already out of his boat and looking around. 

“This is your new home Tommy! Take it in, you’ll be here a while.” Tommy wanted to break that stupid mask. 

“Oh! A long vacation, this’ll be great. Tommy were like lads on tour! Us against the world, I’ll go get some wood to start building us a vacation home!” Ghostbur was so excited, he couldn’t help but have a small smile. 

The smile was wiped off Tommys face when he felt Dream’s hand on his shoulder. He quickly stepped away and folded his wings back. 

“Don’t you touch me you bitch!” He glared at him through narrowed eyes. “I want to go home, let me go home!” 

“Tommy, this is your new home. Now I’m going to need you to do something,” Dream laughed a bit, making Tommy even more wary. 

“I’m not doing anything for you. Fuck you!” Tommy looked around, the rain would make it hard but he was sure if he tried hard enough he could fly away. Though Dream was really good with a bow, Tommy knew that first hand. But the rain would make it even harder for Dream to aim and- 

“Tommy, you don’t have a choice,” Dream’s voice was harsh, “I want you to open your wings for me,” Tommys eyes went wide. 

“What? No! You think I’ll just let you see my wings? After last time and what happened, no fucking way! Go fuck yourself,” Deep down he had a feeling of what was going on but he didn’t want to believe it. There was a glint in the corner of his eyes, Tommy looked to see Dream’s axe in hand. He had no choice. 

“Come on, let’s make this quick and easy. Wouldn’t want poor Ghostbur to come back to a bloody mess,” He laughed. 

Tommy clenched his fists and spread his wings, the white feathers were gray from the rain. They were heavy from being soaked. He tensed as he heard the familiar snip of shears. He was ashamed to admit tears streamed down his face. His wings hadn’t been clipped since he was a child. It was humiliating. After a while the cries stopped, and Tommy just stared at the ground. His feathers fell slowly and calmly. 

It felt like forever before the snipping stopped. Tommy had counted backwards from ten a millions times before Dream stepped away and laughed. 

“There, couldn’t have the little songbird flying away now could we?” 

“Fuck you,” Tommys voice was hoarse, he grew tired. 

Dream began helping Tommy make a small home when Ghostbur returned, he was humming a familiar tune when he saw Tommy and all happiness dropped. 

“What happened to your wings?” He gasped softly, “They’re, they’re clipped. Why are they clipped?” 

“Well Ghostbur, Tommy here got himself into a bit of trouble and this is part of his punishment. And you wouldn’t want him flying away from your new vacation home!” Dream’s laugh was evil as he built the dirt walls. Tommy felt like a mockery. 

“I guess that’s true, but that’s awful,” Ghostbur trailed off and began placing his things in a chest. Tommy couldn’t help but laugh at the irony, it was Wilbur who clipped his wings as a child. It was only once, but it was enough to stick with Tommy for years. 

“Alright, put your stuff in the hole,” Dream laughed as began digging. Tommy couldn’t help but be shocked. 

“Really? Really Dream? You already took my flight from me why take more? What more can you take?” He shouted. 

“Well, I could take your last life,” Dream proposed, Tommy gulped and dropped his things. He didn’t have any tears left as the ground shook and his things blew to bits. He didn’t have much more to lose.

After Dream left Tommy curled up into a ball on the bed he was left and stared at the wall. Ghostbur floated next to him and hummed an old song until he saw Tommy’s breathing fall into sync and his eyes drift closed. 

“Is he alright?” Ghostbur turned to the voice, it was Sam. He remembered him from around the smp. “Is Tommy alright?” Ghostbur brought a finger to his face to show to be quiet but nodded. 

“He fell asleep a little bit ago, he’s had a long day,” Sam nodded and came a bit closer to Tommy, the boy was shivering. He moved the blanket over his shoulders and smiled. 

“If he needs a place to hide out, tell him he can come to me, I’ll have a bed waiting for him,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> exile might last a while chapter wise
> 
> sorry for slow updates i’m working 2 jobs now plus school so i’ve just been exhausted


	22. Visits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> techno visits tommy

Technoblade always liked the winter time, it reminded him of quiet times back at home. The potato harvest was over and the planting season was far away. Winter was late night hot chocolate with Phil. Winter was the house being filled with Wilbur’s music. Though us was drastically different from the warm comfort of the nether, winter was home for Technoblade. 

His new house was quaint, the retirement life was a lot different than the life at the Hypixel arena or the life of exile that he had become accustomed to. 

It was Phil who broke the news of Tommy’s exile to him. 

“I told him governments would do you no good and what does he do? Puts his trust in a government. And where does it get him? Exiled!” Technoblade nearly threw his mug. Phil laughed, he’d been around too long to deal with the petty squabbles like this. Techno was one of the only people that understood that. 

“Ghostbur went with him, I have no idea where they went if I’m honest.” Phil just stared sadly at his hot chocolate. “Dream took them,” 

“You know I’ve always been wary of him. Even before the duel! I’m gonna find them and check in on them,” Technoblade decided. “Are you sure Dream’s the only one that knows where they went? Surely he’d tell Tubbo,” 

“I asked Tubbo myself, I told him I want to visit but Tubbo said he doesn’t have a clue,” Phil shook his head, he was just as frustrated. 

“Nothing the human gps can’t figure out,” 

It took Techno a few days to find Tommy, the nether was very helpful. He had charted all the current portals and it wasn’t long before a new one appeared. He first visited in the night, he knew Tommy wouldn’t be happy to see him so he just wanted to make sure he was okay and get out. 

Ghostbur was awake when he got there, well to be fair he wasn’t sure if Ghostbur ever slept. 

“Techno!” He shouted and a smile grew across his gray face. “I can’t believe you’re here! Do you like our vacation home? We’re lads on tour!” Techno gently shushed Ghostbur. 

“Don’t tell Tommy I’m here, I just wanted to make sure he’s okay.” He looked over to Tommy, he was barely asleep. The blanket was up to his shoulders, he looked peaceful despite his bad appearance. 

“Okay! Please come visit more, we get quite lonely out here,” Ghostbur smiled, keeping his voice quiet this time. 

“I’ll be back to check in, okay?” Ghostbur nodded quickly, “Take care of him for me,” 

The next time Techno saw Tommy was a surprise visit a few weeks later. Tommy was mining and he snuck up on him, which he later regretted. The fear in his eyes was something he had only seen once before. His grip on his pickaxe was shaky but he held it in front of him like a weapon. 

“Tommy how many times do I gotta tell you pickaxes aren’t weapons,” He chuckled. 

“What do you want! Gonna blow up my new home, are you? Go ahead!” He laughed bitterly. 

“I’m a changed man,” Techno removed his helmet and smiled. He didn’t want Tommy to hate him, they grew up together. Techno remembers teaching him to read, Tommy would often pretend not to understand to get Techno to read him the story. 

There was a long, silent moment between the two of them. The only noises were the crackle of the torches and the occasional drip of the caves. Techno had let his guard down, and Tommy lunged. The two went down, Tommy trying to land a hit. Techno grabbed his fists and managed to flip Tommy off of him. He equipped his trident and plunged it into the ground, Tommys neck between two of the spikes. 

“Let me go you bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!” Tommy tried to pull the trident away but Techno knew his strength and there was no getting that trident out of the stone. He was kicking and his wings were flapping furiously. 

“Tommy, there’s no need to fight,” He put his helmet back on. Tommy stopped struggling, laying his wings and arms flat. Techno looked at him for the first time really. “Tommy, what happened to your wings?” He noticed the clipped ends. Tommys face dropped and he tucked his wings in. 

“Nothing, now please let me up. This stone is uncomfortable,” Tommy continued squirming, though a bit less as he tried to keep his wings tucked in. 

“Cmon, tell me what happened?” Techno crouched down and Tommy slowly opened his wing. He examined the clips, they were clean and recent. “Dream?” Tommy nodded. “You didn’t just get exiled you got grounded too!” Techno laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Tommy snatched his wing back but didn’t say anything. 

“Please just let me go, I want to get this iron up to Ghostbur so we can smelt it before Dream gets back,” Tommy paled for a moment, “You have to leave before Dream gets back,” 

This confused Techno, Tommy was never one to back down from Dream. Even after what happened on the 16th. Techno laughed and pulled the trident out, allowing Tommy to finally sit up. 

“What? I come to visit and I’m gettin’ kicked out. That’s pretty rude,” 

“No, Dream. He’s my friend, but he doesn’t want other people around when he’s here. So please, Technoblade, please,” 

Begging wasn’t Tommy, calling Dream a friend wasn’t Tommy, this wasn’t Tommy. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. But, Techno couldn’t get involved. Tommy was his own person, and Phil had raised them to be strong so he had to trust that. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll get going,” Techno helped Tommy out of the cave, “Toms. Take care,” 

He smiled before heading back to his house, Phil wasn’t there like he expected but it was alright. He sat down and opened a book, reading it to the resident enderman in his house before drifting off into a quiet nap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you guys for all the support! seeing comments and more people reading really does make my day
> 
> this chapter took me a while bc i wasn’t quite happy with it but i think it turned out pretty good :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! this is my first work I hope you like it. I’ll try to update on a regular interval bc as of right now i have so many chapters ahead being worked on
> 
> sorry it’s so long i decided to write this at 3 am and would not stop until the first chapter was done


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